


City Of Stars

by mariuspunmercy



Series: across the stars [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen, Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, POV Alternating, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23294638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariuspunmercy/pseuds/mariuspunmercy
Summary: Annabeth has never left her home planet, much less been included on a space mission to find the most important man in the galaxy.But then she meets a Half-Blood fighter, and she finds out she was always meant to a part of the intergalactic adventure. The only problem is the Commander of the sinister Titans has one goal, and that's to bring her before him.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace & Leo Valdez
Series: across the stars [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675294
Comments: 7
Kudos: 29





	1. You'll Never Believe This False Hope

Leo watched the stars sparkling in the distance as he walked into the little hut. 

The stars may not seem like a top priority when you’re sent on a super secret mission by _the_ leader of the Half-Bloods, but for Leo, he can prioritize many things at once without a worry in the world.

Well, actually, there’s many problems in the world, but he tries not to think about that. Festus, his small droid that could be a soccer ball if he wanted to, rolled next to him, beeping loudly with concern.

“I know, buddy..” Leo said as he sat down on the floor. “I know.”

The wind blew against his pilot jacket as Nyssa, the woman they were getting the information from, walked in with a pep to her step. She was moving very quickly, obviously afraid of being seen. 

“Hey, why don’t you go keep a lookout?” Leo told Festus. “If the Titans come, let us know immediately, and contact the Half-Bloods.” His droid rolled outside, happily doing his job.

Nyssa handed him a sack, which is probably the most precious object in the galaxy right now. “I’ve seen too much, fought too much to bring you this information. We need the Demigods back. Without them, there is no balance in the Force; in the _galaxy.”_

Leo hates that he can’t reassure that the Demigods can restore peace. He hates the way things are going for them right now in the war. Nothing has gotten better since he became a pilot, and this woman obviously wants him to tell her she’s wrong for being scared.

He can’t. But he can help bring her hopes up.

“Well, because of you, we have a fighting chance now,” Leo patted the sack, almost a reminder of what they’re working towards. “The General has been looking for this for a very long time now.”

Nyssa scoffed. “Folks are out there calling her the General? No, to me she will always be royalty.” 

He’s heard stories of when the General used to be a Princess. He’s heard all about her adventures when she was a humble nineteen year old leading a rebellion. Not much has changed, being completely honest.

Festus rolled in at record speed, beeping so frantically that Leo could barely understand his creaks and squeaks. As difficult as it was, he did understand the main point, and it meant trouble.

He turned to Nyssa, panic surely written on his face. “We’ve got company.” 

They both jumped to their feet, following Festus to where he rolled to the middle of the desert planet; San Francisco. The trio watched as Titan ships started to circle in the air, searching for the pouch that Leo held dear in his jacket pocket.

If they figured out that Nyssa was the one who supplied the information, then that can cause some serious repercussions. “You need to hide,” he told her.

“And you need to get out of here!” Nyssa yelled, watching the ships.

Usually, he’d be super skeptical about leaving innocent people behind when the Titans were involved, not knowing what was going to happen to them. But he saw the determined look in her eyes. He knew if he stayed, they’d both be caught.

As conflicted as he is, he finally turned to her, giving her a nod of thanks before he ran through the village, dodging many armed villagers. The Giantroopers started to fire on the villagers, and he could hear their yells as they were hit.

He ran to his ship, an X-Wing, where he had hid it behind a giant rock. Maybe that wasn’t the smartest, but he always made it without being too intelligent. 

“Festus, hurry!” Leo yelled as his droid prepped itself into the co-pilot seat. The controls of the ship came to life, the glowing buttons illuminating the darkness of nightfall. 

He made the mistake of turning around, and he could see the Giantroopers in the distance. They were advancing _quickly._ He knows he could fly fast, but he didn’t know if the X-Wing could handle the speed. 

Urgently pressing buttons to start up the engine, it miraculously came to life. It was probably filled with sand and whatever other crap was in the desert, but as long as she was alive then he’s perfect. 

But, as soon as he tried to go, his engine was hit by a blaster. The Giantroopers had caught up, and there wasn’t anywhere to go. Leo aimed the ships’ blaster at them, but he was never the best at being the gunman. 

Luckily, since Giantroopers can never get out of situations they put themselves in, he was able to hit them, blasting them to who knows where. He blocked out Festus’ nervous beeping, instead focusing all his attention on starting the ship up again. 

The engine sputtered as if it had no intention of starting up.

He opened the top of the ship, jumping out so he can assess the damage, fix the stupid thing, and get the hell out of the desert.

But the messed up engine had no intention of being fixed, because it was literally torn in half. They had no way to escape. The duo knew they were in some serious trouble. But the two of them _can’t_ stay here.

Leo grabbed the pouch out of his jacket and knelt next to Festus, the droid already opening up his multi-reader. He stuck the information inside, where it would at least be protected. “You have to take it. It’s safer with you than it was with me. But you need to get as far away from here as you can, and I’ll come for you. Do you understand?” 

Festus beeped in understanding, but also protested. Leo stood, already running off, but not before saying, “It’ll be alright!” 

He hated leaving his little buddy, but he had to. He fired at oncoming troopers, doing whatever he can to get cover in the village. He found Nyssa amid the chaos, and ran over to her. She looked confused, but there was zero time to explain.

A large ship, wingspan at least thirty feet wide, landed in the sand. They turned to each other, knowing exactly who this was. If they weren’t in trouble before, they definitely are now.

Perseus Jackson stepped out of his ship, power just radiating from him.

The Commander signaled for his Giantroopers, and two of them held each of Leo’s arms as Perseus sauntered over to them, stopping in front of Nyssa.

He dwarfed the two of them. He was easily over six feet, his black mask dark from battle. He sneered at Nyssa, peering down at them. “Look how pathetic you’ve become.” 

“Something far worse has happened to you!” Nyssa yelled as the Giantroopers held her, blasters lifted to her head. “I knew of what you were before you started being called by your full name.”

“Give me the map to Underwood!” Perseus screamed, his mask only inches away from Nyssa. Leo helplessly watched as the man got angrier and angrier. A twenty five year old man that is very loud, but man, nonetheless. 

“The Titans rose from the Dark Side, but you did not,” Nyssa stated. “Hephaestus, my father, was friends with yours. They were more than friends; practically brothers. They-”

Perseus ignited his legendary lightsaber, Riptide. The smaller blades at the hilt were scarier in person. The red plasma gave the mask an eerie glow, and Leo had a feeling that he wasn’t just showing it off. 

“I’ll show you the dark side..” Perseus stated.

“You can’t deny your family!” Nyssa struggled against the troopers who didn’t even budge. “You can’t change the Jackson name. _That_ is who you are.”

Perseus laughed, but it wasn’t one of glee. “You are right.” He stared at Nyssa for a second before aiming Riptide and ripping it down her body.

Leo elbowed the Giantrooper on him, taking his blaster and shooting at Perseus. He’s seen too much death to have an actual reaction, but he still hated it every single time.

The bolt of energy stopped in midair, and he could no longer move. Sometimes, the Force really sucks. He strained because like hell he was becoming a prisoner of war to the Commander. But the troopers dragged his body past the blast and in front of Perseus.

“Pat him down?” One of the troopers asked, kicking out Leo’s knee. 

Ever the gift, Leo couldn’t keep in his comments and said, “So, am I going to talk first or do you want to?”

Apparently being charismatic wasn’t as charming to the Commander as it is in cantinas, because he growled and said, “She gave it to you.”

Leo smirked because getting on people's nerves is his favorite pastime. “You know, I can’t understand you. The mask makes it kind of hard to hear.” 

Perseus jabbed Riptide into the ground, going face to face with him. “Search him. Now!”

As the troopers began a very rough pat down, Leo was already coming up with ways to get out of this. He couldn’t have Nyssa go find help because… Festus was his only hope, and he doesn’t even know where the little guy went.

The trooper stood, having not found anything. “Nothing, sir.” 

Leo used his most annoying smile to taunt the Commander who didn’t get what he wanted. 

But Perseus _really_ didn’t appreciate that. “Put him on board!” He yelled, because apparently he can’t do anything without throwing a tiny tantrum. 

General Luke Castellan, who Leo recognized from merely photographs, walked up to the scene. They noticed the villagers who were rounded up, all crying and begging for mercy. A couple were clutching children, and Leo’s heart dropped.

The troopers lifted him as the General asked, “Sir, the villagers?”

Perseus looked at him, then back to Luke and said, “Kill them all.” 

Leo was forced into a ship, but not before he saw the Giantroopers fire on the villagers. Hundreds of innocents… Then Perseus passes the frozen blast into the crowd, and he has to look away or else he’d break down.

One thing for sure: Leo knows that he is for sure doomed. 

*

Leo didn’t say anything as Perseus threw another punch at him, the chair he was shackled to shaking from the force of the hit.

Perseus grinned, a sinister grin, as he examined Leo. “I didn’t know we had the best Half-Blood pilot on board. Are you comfortable?”

If he can tease, anyone can, right? “No, not really. Room service here is terrible. Tell your little Giantroopers to go practice their aim or something because it _sucks._ And I’m using that term very lightly. 

“I’m very impressed..” Perseus circled around him, Riptide’s hilt dragging along his arm. At least it wasn’t ignited. “General Luke came in here and you didn’t say anything. No one has been able to get a word out of you. I just want to know what you did with the map.”

Punching isn’t going to make him talk, and it never will. He’d rather die at the hands of the Commander, struck down by Riptide as he yells about how he didn’t get what he wanted, than tell anyone on board this ship where that map went.

Besides, he needs to protect Festus. As of right now, that small droid is the most valuable thing in the galaxy. The Half-Bloods want him, the Titans probably already have a warrant. The worst part is he can’t communicate to figure out where the little thing rolled off to. 

“You should probably rethink your methods then,” Leo said, rolling his eyes. 

Perseus says nothing in retaliation. Instead, he reaches out to grab Leo’s face, which absolutely scared the shit out of him.

But he didn’t actually grab him. 

Then he felt it.

Pure, unadulterated agony. Spikes of pain shot up Leo’s body, most painfully his head. It was as if tiny knives were making their way into his skin, and they were dragging along his head to access his brain.

“I’ll ask again.” Perseus got deathly close. _“Where is it?”_

“The Half-Bloods refuse to be intimidated by you.”

He began to yell, his agony barely escaping his throat. He told Festus he was going back for him. He will. He just has to make it through this, and he’ll go back to the desert and pick up his droid.

_Shit._

Perseus got so close that he could feel the metal of his mask. “Thank you, Half-Blood hero…” He sauntered off and met General Luke in the hallway. Leo could hear their plan to capture the droid that’s still in San Francisco. What the hell did he do?

A Giantrooper walked in, blaster at the ready. So now the third person to babysit him isn’t even someone he can talk to. Damn, he loves talking.

The worst part is that he knows there was nothing he could’ve done to resist that. The Half-Blood General has told them stories about how the dark side of the Force has been used for terrible, terrible things, interrogations included. 

He might’ve just sold out Festus. His only hope is that somehow, the tiny friend got away from San Francisco and is safe in the arms of the Half-Bloods.

That way, it wouldn’t matter if Leo was tortured to death or dies at the hand of Perseus. As long as that pouch with the information made its way to where it needed to be, then that’s all that’s important.

As much as he’d hate to die right now, he knows it’d all be for the better. He can’t handle seeing another person die in front of him. That was the fourth time it happened next to him, but only the first where it wasn’t someone who meant everything to him.

First, it was his mom. She was on a recon mission for the General on the planet Texas, and Leo had gone with her. In a cantina raid gone wrong, a bounty hunter named Nakamura shot her in front of her sixteen year old son, not a single care in the world. 

Two years later, little eighteen year old Leo was building a ship with his Tia Callida. She was scolding him for something, trying to help him fix whatever, when Giantroopers raided and blew up what she was working on. The explosion took her and two more Half-Blood heroes.

Not even a year later, he swore to be the best damn pilot there was. He’d fly into the stars to see his mom again, and his Tia can see how good he was with ships. He’d never let another stupid mistake take anyone else from him.

But being a good pilot didn’t do anything.

His best friend, Buford, was the next to go. He was gunning a ship that Leo was piloting. He didn’t even notice he had gotten shot until they landed. He turned to high five Buford, and the dude was _dead._

Three deaths later, and he hasn’t had a chance to even mourn Nyssa. Damn… What the hell did Perseus do to him? He hasn’t thought about any of that since Buford, and that happened when he was twenty. He shouldn’t be thinking about this five years later. 

Funny, because that’s the exact opposite mentality that the General has. She always tells him to talk it out when he needs to, because holding everything in is what caused Hazel Levesque to turn to the dark side and destroy the balance in the Force. 

The stories are chilling. So, even though he’s encouraged to talk about it, Leo never does. For one, he’s not Force sensitive, so he can’t fall to the dark side, Secondly, he just doesn’t like talking about it.

Having something stable in his life, like being Wing Commander (or as he likes to call it, Supreme Commander), has helped him move on. He could never thank the Half-Bloods enough for getting him through so many deaths. 

He jumped when the cell door swooshed open, another Giantrooper walking in. Really, he’s worth this much security? He’s flattered and all, but it seems like another three troopers need to be added. Yeah, that seems accurate to his worth. 

“Perseus wants the prisoner,” the trooper said. His hands were clenched at his side, and he was gripping his blaster way too tightly. Something seems… off.

The original trooper let him out of his shackles. His face was killing him, and he was sure that his ribs were about to pop out. But besides that, he was fine. 

“Turn here.” The trooper guided Leo through an empty corridor with his blaster, holding it right behind his back.

Huh?

“Listen carefully…” The trooper pulled off his helmet, revealing a guy, probably around Leo’s age, with dirty blonde hair and electrifying blue eyes.

Now, Leo had never seen a trooper take off their helmet, so he was in awe. Plus, this whole situation seemed kinda… weird. He did a double take because being completely honest, the trooper was easy on the eyes. “What the heck… Hold up, backtrack. What’s your name?”

The trooper impatiently looked side to side, probably checking for General Luke. “Just call me Jason, it’s the name the other troopers gave me. Look, you have to do exactly as I say if you want to get out of here. This is a rescue. I’m… rescuing you. I’m getting you out of here. Can you fly a TIE Fighter?” 

Excitement spread through Leo. “Are you with the Half-Bloods?” 

Jason seemed taken aback by that. “What? No, that’s crazy. I’m a Giantrooper, but I want to break you out. Can you fly an TIE Fighter?” 

“I can fly anything.” He realized this probably wasn’t the best time to show off, but instead to keep his suspicions up. “Wait, why are you helping me?”

“Because… it’s the right thing to do.” 

But couldn’t the trooper go off on his own…? Unless he couldn’t. Oh. _Oh._ “You need a pilot,” he realized. 

“I need a pilot,” Jason admitted. 

“Okay.” It doesn’t matter who you are. If you don’t want to stay with the Titans, you won’t. “Okay, let’s do this.” He smiled at Jason reassuringly. This is probably a horrible idea, but that’s fine. Horrible ideas is his middle name. 

“Yeah?” Jason replied, unsure but hopeful. “Yeah, okay.” He put his helmet back on, pressing the blaster to Leo’s back. They left the safety of the secluded hallway and back into the main hangers. 

Not that Leo is usually scared in situations like this. In fact, he always gets called reckless because he dives into problems without thinking. Because he’s not, ya know, _scared._

But the Force terrifies him. The way it just takes control of you and can make you lose all feeling in your body. You involuntarily give up everything to someone else; someone who isn’t doing this for good.

He’s terrified because if they get caught, Perseus would probably do his worst. He could be forced to give up the location of the Half-Blood’s base. He could endanger all of those people, might potentially kill them all just because they make one wrong move right now.

Plus, there’s a Giantrooper right here who is risking everything, and is currently betraying the most dangerous people in the galaxy to get Leo out of here. They can’t mess this up. 

A group of officers walked past them, heading in the opposite direction. Jason responded to that by jabbing his blaster deeper into Leo’s back. 

“Stay calm, stay calm,” Jason reminded once the officers passed.

“I _am.”_ _  
_

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

They saw the TIEs, and they sped up. They discreetly made their way up the stairs, lifting the canopy and both hopping inside. Leo threw off his handcuffs, his entire body sore. Being tortured by the Force takes a lot out of a person. 

As Leo stretched out the creeks in his neck and took his jacket off, Jason threw his helmet as he excitedly sat in the gunner’s seat. Hell, he was just as excited. Being the best pilot the Half-Bloods have, it’s his personal mission to know how to fly every ship he can.

He fired up the TIE, and nearly sang to the heavens when it purred to life. “I have _always_ wanted to fly one of these. Do you know how to shoot?”

“I can shoot blasters,” Jason said, smiling a huge grin. He couldn’t tell if this was supposed to be ironic or not.

“Alright, that works.” It didn’t, because troopers don’t know how to aim, but that’s okay. “Basically the same thing. You can switch between missiles and canons using the toggle on the left, and on the right you would-”

“I’ve never touched one of these and you’re making it very complicated,” Jason complained, throwing his arms in the air. 

Before Leo could even answer (or throw hands, whichever came first), the TIE lurched forward as if it had been hit. _Oh, it had been hit._ Well, that makes a lot of sense.

“I can fix it!” Leo yelled, plopping down in the pilot’s seat. He reached to go to lightspeed, then remembered the special force TIEs don’t have hyperdrives like the normal ones. He tried to take off like regular, and it actually went a few feet, before they were pulled back. 

“Cables!” Jason yelled. “We’re connected to some cables, and we can’t get off the ground. They’ve definitely alerted General Luke by now.”

Leo peeked outside the window, worried by the sight of Giantroopers lined up and aiming for them. “Jason, open fire!” 

No one will care if the TIE is damaged just a little bit, right? Leo redirected all power to the engine, and they snapped the cables in order to actually leave the landing bay. “I got it!” he yelled, excited by the development. 

He’s truly amazed by how this thing moves. He can talk for weeks about reasons he hates the Titans, but the speed on the TIEs isn’t one of them. They blasted out of the ship, and the sight of a galaxy full of stars never ceases to make him take a double take.

A brief look at his gunman, and he assumed the Titans never took their Giantroopers for a look at the stars. Jason marveled the sky, and Leo wishes they could just stare all day, but they have a job to do right now.

“If we actually want to get somewhere, we have to take out the cannons first,” he said, steering them to where they needed to be. “I’ll keep us in position. You shoot.”

He flew almost dead center to the cannons to give Jason an easy target. “It’s a clean shot, buddy. You got this.”

Jason fires, then yells, “Debris! Go!” The explosion was heard in the background as they hurried off, cheering in excitement. Did they really just do _that?_

“Hey, man. What’d you say your number was?” Leo asked, turning his head ever so slightly.

“SP8Q, but we all give each other names instead,” Jason informed. “It’s something they did in the clone days, apparently. I’m called Jason, and I like it!”

Even through the madness, he couldn’t suppress his smile. “I’m Leo. Leo Valdez.”

“Good to meet you, Leo.”

“It’s good to meet you too, Jason.” He thinks for a moment, then suddenly remembers what he was here to do all along. “Wait, really quick. We have to make a pit stop in San Francisco.”

“You might be making more than a pit stop. There’s another TIE coming in on your right,” Jason warned as Leo turned around, heading straight towards the incoming TIEs. “Wait, what the heck?” He yelled as he shot the ships. “Where the hell are we going?”

“I just said…” Leo concentrated on making it to the sandy planet that popped into view. “Back to San Francisco.” 

“I thought you were joking-”

“Why would I be joking!?”  
  
“-when you said we had to go back! No, man. We gotta leave the whole system before Perseus finds us.”

Leo dodged blast after blast, probably pissing off his new friend even more. “I need to get back to my droid. I left him. We have to get him before the Titans do!”

“Wait, a _droid!?”_ _  
_

“Yeah! He’s yellow, pretty much gold, with some brown, pretty much bronze. He’s truly one of a kind.”

As the sand got closer in view, Jason’s panic increased. “I don’t care what color your droid is! No droid can be that important!” 

“This one is, man.”

“We have to get away from the Titans first! We go back to San Francisco, we die!” 

“The droid has the map that leads to Grover Underwood. You know, the one that caused this problem in the first place.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Jason exclaimed. Suddenly, his demeanor changed, and he yelled, “Leo, watch out!”

Leo barely saw the blast when it hit the TIE before his vision faded, the last thing he saw being the stars in the sky and Jason’s arm reaching for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on house arrest until May 5 so I just HAD to start a new WIP I know. 
> 
> Any questions leave them in the comments and I'll answer them because yeah, this fusion thing gets a littttttle confusing


	2. This Is Everything I Never Wanted

Annabeth saw the piece of scrap through her goggles, and excitedly added it to her collection.

Her backpack was getting pretty full, and she was pretty happy with everything that she found. It has to be enough for at least a full portion. Jeez, she can’t even remember the last time she ate a full portion… 

She swung her bag to secure it on her shoulders as she slid down a cable. She doesn’t know why a crashed ship has a cable, but at least it made for easy access back to the ground. She was met with a metal sheet, which she could use to transport her pieces to her little home. Carrying a backpack full of heavy stuff for a long time is definitely not the best idea.

Leaving the crashed ship, she began to make her way back home. She stayed way longer than planned, and she was coming to regret it. There was only a slit of moonlight left, the sun rising over the horizon. She refused to run into any chimeras right now. 

She took off her goggles, then the face mask that was made from rags. Her blond hair tumbled down her shoulders, but she used the same rags to put it in a ponytail. The terrors of having curly hair in a desert. 

As she pulled the sheet with all her new treasures, she suddenly felt very parched. She opened her canteen, and dropped the very last bit of water into her mouth. While two little sips didn’t do much, she’s gotta stay grateful, right?

If she started thinking of all the things she wanted, or even if she began to list all of the ways that she’d been mistreated, or perhaps why she deserved something somewhat better, then she’d go insane. No time to dwell on the what-ifs, right? 

She hit the side of the canteen, trying to get whatever else was left. Because as much as she accepted her fate, she will never be alright with not having enough water. 

But, nothing else came out, so she continued to walk until she saw the old, destroyed Nemesis. Yeah, she kind of hates living in something that used to belong to the Titans, but she needed somewhere to live. Again, she’s not gonna dwell on anything for too long.

Obviously, she only has enough time on her hands to keep up with one thing.

Her Nemesis sat on the bottom of a sand dune, so she slid her metal sheet of supplies down first. Once it landed safely, and she made sure there was no one around to see her, she slid down as well. 

She walked over to her tiny speeder that she scavenged. 

Because that’s all she really is: a scavenger. 

The speeder sputtered to life, making a noise that hurt Annabeth’s ears. It’s not going far, but it’s not like she was trying to travel anywhere for too long.

After she attached the sheet with her supplies to the back of the speeder, Annabeth sat atop the seat, kicking it into gear and heading towards the city. She’d love to one day be able to fly an actual ship. She probably could, too. When she used to steal ships for parts, she’d teach herself to pilot them. She has a lot of time on her hands.

Despite her wish to pilot a ship and be able to fly across the galaxy, she knew she could never. She wouldn’t leave San Francisco, for one. Second… no, that’s it. She couldn’t leave this place in her wildest dreams. 

She saw the trading outpost in the distance, and she tried to speed up. It didn’t work, because the speeder actually sucks, but at least she tried. Her ponytail flapped in her face, and she put her goggles on to protect against the vicious wind. 

Parking her speeder a little bit away from the village, she stopped by a cleaning table first. The better condition something was, the more portions Atlas would give. That includes how clean the scarps are, so she dragged her sheet to the water.

She saw an older lady who was scrubbing away at her rags. She smiled sweetly at Annabeth, and she wondered if one day, she was going to look like this; an elderly woman still on San Francisco, refusing to go anywhere else. 

Getting stuck in the moment, she forgot what she was doing. A passerby barked something at her in another language that she didn’t understand, but she still got the message. All scavengers have to keep going and keep working, never stopping. 

After finally scrubbing everything clean, she dragged her sheet into the sunlight. The various vendors and shops all wanted her to go inside and buy something, but she ignored every single one. Not like they had her best interest at mind.

Then again, no one in this place really cares for one another. There’s no sympathy towards one another, and you’d probably get laughed at if you offered anyone help. It’s every man out for themselves, and it will always be.

She felt the scraps to see if they were dry yet, but decided to wait one more click. Not that they were still wet because the San Francisco sun is _terrible._ Even though she wore white robes, the heat can still be unbearable at times. 

But she _hated_ dealing with Atlas. The old man always robbed her of food, and never gave her what she actually needed. Again, she doesn’t dwell on it for longer than fifteen clicks, but it still infuriated her. 

She knows she’d be better off sometimes not even giving him anything. She could collect her scraps until she had so many he had no choice but to give her at least two full portions. But not eating in heat like this only called for disaster. 

Finally collecting herself and putting on her big girl robes, she dragged the sheet through the sand and to Atlas’ service window, waiting in line behind a very tall droid.

When the droid collected their stuff, she took a step forward and peered up at the window. Atlas examined her pieces, considering the worth before saying, “It’s worth a quarter portion.”

And disappointment has struck again. 

She allowed it to show on her face, but didn't say anything as he slid the dried green meat and beige powder to her. She glared at the sealed package with disdain, leaving the sheet on the ground as she snatched it from the window. 

She hopped back onto her speeder, racing to get home. She kept her staff visible, a warning to not go anywhere near her. Most people would probably avoid her, anyways.

The ride back to the Nemesis wasn’t super long, but her disappointment made it seem way longer. She parked the speeder right next to her door so she could hear if anyone stepped foot anywhere near it. 

She added another tally to the wall. She looked at the thousands of other marks; a thousand other days she’s spent on this isolated planet.

She opened the powder and sizzled the meat on her makeshift wok. It wasn’t the best, but it would feed one. She poured the powder into some water she had saved for her meal, then poured it onto the dried up meat. It made a strange noise for a second, then grew into a loaf. A small one, but at least it fit onto her only plate. 

Making her way outside to watch the sunset, Annabeth ate like a starving child. She finished her quarter portion in what was probably less than two clicks. Every last drop, then she licked her plate after to make sure she got it all.

Next to her was one of her most prized possessions; a broken Half-Blood helmet, the orange pegasus stamped proud on the side. She found it with the ship, and she assumed a pilot must’ve died with the crash. 

She put the helmet on just because, and she couldn’t even see out of it since it was so huge. It was always in times like this where she felt the most isolated and alone. She’s nineteen now. They shouldn’t be much longer.

A beep was heard in the distance.

Annabeth sat up, quickly ripping the helmet off. She searched the sunset, but didn’t see anything. Another squeal was heard, so she stood and ran inside, grabbing her staff and making her way back outside.

It sounded like a droid, and she makes sure to never leave a droid alone on a planet like this. She saw a small soccer ball looking thing. It was gold with brown accents, and was just about the prettiest droid she’d ever seen.

A chimera had caught the droid in her net, but he was obviously fighting back. As much as she hated chimeras, she wasn’t going to let the droid go. She watched for a beat before yelling, “Hey! Leave the poor thing alone!”

The chimera growled, but she couldn’t understand what it said. “You ought to be out of your mind, coming anywhere near me!” Annabeth responded, growing closer to the scene.

Another growl that she didn’t understand, but a growl ignored. The droid’s head swiveled as if watching a tennis match. Annabeth angrily walked to the duo, using a point part of her double sided staff to cut the droid free from the net. 

The chimera freaked out, backing away and growling, to which she yelled, “Get away! Get back!”

Muttering to itself, the chimera started leaving to go find a new victim to harass. The droid started beeping at the departing bully, and Annabeth kneeled to him to calm him down.

“Shh, it’s okay,” she reassured. “It’s just a chimera; they’re always stealing stuff to get parts. They have zero respect for anyone but themselves.” She turned to him, and almost got up to go kill the chimera. “They bent your antena.” She straightened the little wire, and finally took a moment to consider what she had in front of her. 

The droid had a round body, which is where she got the whole ‘soccer ball’ thing from. But his head was made of another ball, so he could probably travel fast. Must be nice.

“What’s your name, little one?” Annabeth asked, observing to make sure no serious damage was done to any of his parts. That, and she needed to get him to beep so she could make sure she understands him. She didn’t have time during all the commotion to actually try to listen to his angry yelling.

She hoped she could communicate with him. While she won’t keep him around because selling him may be too tempting and she refuses to give away his free will, it would be nice to have a conversation with someone that wasn’t Atlas.

The beeps he made confirmed that she could indeed understand him.

“Ah, Festus. Cute,” she hummed. “I’m Annabeth.” He asked for her family name, to which she smiled sadly. “I don’t have one.” Desperate to change the subject, she asked, “Where are you from?”

Festus beeped, and she decided to amuse him. “It’s classified? Me too. It’s a big secret, even for me.” 

She took a single step towards her Nemesis, and Festus rolled to her ankles. She assumed he’d leave, but guess not. “The trading outpost is that way. Don’t go near Atlas because he’ll sell you since you don’t have a master.” 

He beeped sadly, and she found herself wanting to cheer him up. Maybe he was waiting for someone too. “But you don’t need one, right? You don’t need a master to tell you to stay away from the Sinking Fields because you’ll drown in the sand.” 

Feeling terrible about making Festus sad, Annabeth stood and started walking back to her Nemesis. He continued to roll behind her, so she told him, “You don’t have to follow me. Town is that way.” 

She tried to walk off again, but he stayed close behind her. She turned around to tell him something, but then the realization hit her. This is a droid who’s alone and scared, left to wait for a master who might not come back. So, she nods her head for him to follow her, and they made their way back to the nemesis. 

“You leave in the morning,” she informed as they disappeared behind a dune.

*

As Annabeth waited in line for the service window after a good day of scavenging, Festus continued to voice his concern for his master.

“Don’t give up hope. Your classified master might still show up,” she reassured. “I know all about waiting, trust me.” 

Festus beeped questionly, so she answered, “For my family. They’re gonna be back one day.” She tried to force a smile, but she really couldn’t. She sighed as she stepped forward to the window, leaving her parts in the open for Atlas to examine, Festus hiding behind her legs.

“Hmm, let me see what you have here…” Atlas pondered. “I think… half a portion.”

“Half a portion!?” Now, she doesn’t normally fight it, but now he’s not even being sneaky about scamming her. “This was all worth half a portion each just last week!” 

He peered forward, almost out of the window to look at everything she had. “How about the droid?”

Annabeth was taken aback. “What about him?” 

“I’ll pay to have it.” Atlas dumped portions on portions in front of her. “Sixty portions, then a full one every week from now on.”

She gathered the food in her arms, stunned at the amount of food that was all in one place; offered to _her._ Then, Festus bumped into her ankle, beeping frantically. She looked down at him, then back to Atlas. 

No, she is _not_ leaving this poor droid for Atlas to take advantage of. 

“Actually,” Annabeth tells him, looking away from the food so she wouldn’t be tempted. “The droid isn’t for sale.” She nodded in the other direction to Festus, saying, “Come on.” 

She started walking, and Festus followed close behind her. She heard the service window slam close, but she didn’t know what to think of that. He’s probably just pissed off that he revealed how many portions he actually has. 

“It’s okay, you’re alright,” she said, kneeling next to him. He beeped emphatically, grateful that he hasn’t been left behind a second time. 

A pair of arms wrapped around her middle, snatching her from the ground. She came face to face with Pleione; one of Atlas’ thugs. Before she could react and beat the crap out of him with her staff, he said, “We’re taking the droid.”

The thing is: _she can’t stand Atlas’ thugs._

When she first became a part of this whole scavenger thing, a long ago man that worked for Atlas as well would come and steal her scrapes. She used to lose out on three portions a _week_ as a thirteen year old because some grown men felt the need to take from a child.

They all leave a sour taste in her mouth. The nicest one she’s ever met was named Anubis, and even he wasn’t the best. See, the bad stuff only happened when he turned out to be a secret bounty hunter, and he stole her supplies.

These thugs are not going to take anything else from her. It doesn’t matter that she told Festus to leave by morning, or even that these men could snap her neck if they got too angry with her. Too many people on this shitty planet have taken too much from her.

Years and years of waiting for someone to return. Years of fighting off thieves and trying to contain her hatred for Atlas. She doesn’t know where it came from, but Festus gave her a new motivation to do something. Maybe it was actually having someone to talk to.

“You aren’t taking this droid anywhere,” Annabeth exclaimed, trying to get Pleione off of her. In the tussle, she accidentally backed him into a vendor, and the urns that they were selling clattered all over the floor. 

Festus began to beep rapidly, and she noticed the other thug put a sack over him. Annabeth turned around to face Pleione, using her nails that she never cut to scratch at his face like a wild animal. 

Why does Atlas want Festus so bad? Whenever there’s something he wants that he can’t get, he usually leaves it alone. More of a too bad so sad type of thing. Why is he acting like… she doesn’t even know what to compare him to.

“Give us the droid and we’ll let you go,” Pleione said through gritted teeth, grabbing a fistful of her ponytail and tugging her to the ground.

Annabeth’s backpack fell off when they landed, which meant easier access to her staff. She kicked the pack into her hands, gripping her staff and hitting Pleione over the head. She didn’t realize she’d hit him that hard until he limply hit the sand.

She stood, and the thug that was holding Festus stared her down. It wasn’t intimidating, because growing up around these people didn’t grow her fear; it just made her angrier. 

“Put him down,” she demanded. _“Now.”_

The thug smiled, not moving an inch. Annabeth swung her staff with one hand as he dodged, prepared to make a run for it. She extended her arms, sticking her staff in front of his legs, sending him sprawling to the ground. 

He stood up quickly, but she aimed straight for the head. She swung as hard as she could, and he dropped to the ground. Festus fell out of his sack, beeping with content. He rolled around her in circles, praising her for being so nice to him. 

She laughed, but then a small wave of sadness hit her square in the chest. She’s going to help him find his master, then they’d departe ways; just like everyone else in her life.

Festus suddenly stopped his parading and started beeping with alarm. She crouched down with concern, but he kept chirping about a man a couple of vendors down.

“What is it?” She asked, confused at his alarm.

Festus continued to practically scream, and she stared directly at the man as he watched them. He was tall and rugged, his dirty blonde hair looking like hers, a brown jacket sitting on top of a black bodysuit. 

_It’s my master’s jacket,_ Festus beeped. _He stole his jacket!_

Annabeth stood up, took one look at the dude, and started charging at him with her staff raised. 

The image must’ve been pretty terrifying, because he backed away with a horrified face. She used her staff to slam him to the ground, pointing it at his face.

“What’s the rush, thief?” Annabeth demanded.

He was out of breath, and looked up at her confused, but his eyes stayed on Festus. “Thief? What are you talking about?” Festus rolled over to him, sticking out his welding arm and shocking him. “Ow! What, why!?” he yelped. 

She held the staff closer to his face, saying, “The droid says that you stole this jacket!”

“It’s been a pretty messed up day for me, okay? So can we just-” Festus zapped him again. “-ow! Can you please stop it?”

“Where’d you get the jacket?” She continued. “It belongs to his master!”

The man looked strangely at her, then back to the agitated droid. He sighed, then dropped his head back to the sand. “It belonged to Leo Valdez. That was your master’s name, right?”

So this random guy knows the classified name of Festus’ master? The man continued, saying, “The Titans captured him. I helped him escape, but…” he got quiet, facing away from them. “Our ship crashed. He didn’t make it.” Festus rolled away, beeping sadly. “I tried to help him. I’m sorry.” He bumped into her ankle, almost cuddling next to her.

His master wasn’t coming back… 

Then it hit her; Festus is doing something ‘classified’. The man has the orange pegasus of the Half-Bloods, and he knows Festus’s master. So then that means… 

“Are you with the Half-Bloods?” Annabeth asked, turning away from her droid friend to awe at the orange pegasus. 

“Uh…” He hesitated before smiling up at her. “Yeah, yeah, of course. Duh. I’m with the Half-Bloods…” He cleared his throat before whispering, “I’m a Half-Blood, yeah. The name’s Jason.” 

She lowered her staff, allowing him to stand on his own. “Oh, wow. I’ve never met a Half-Blood before.”

The war between the Half-Bloods and Titans never made its way over to this lonely planet. While yeah, everyone alive is fighting to not be slaves under the Titan Order, no one ever actually does anything important. To be meeting the people that make a difference in the galaxy… 

Jason pulled the jacket tighter around his body as Festus coddled himself into her legs. “Yeah, this is what we look like. Not all of us are the same, obviously.” 

She moved one of her legs so he could get a clear view of her new friend. “Festus says that he’s doing something classified. He has to get back to your base.”

“If the information that his master told me is correct, then this is the most valuable droid in the galaxy right now. He has a map that leads to Grover Underwood.”

Now, Annabeth didn’t get a lot of bedtime stories growing up on the worst planet for children. But, the one story that she’s heard over a thousand times is the story of Grover Underwood, and she never got sick of it.

He defeated the evil Tartarus Empire after, and turned Darth Pluto to the light side of the Force, thus giving everyone the ability to walk free for a very long time. But if there’s a map to him, then… 

“Grover Underwood?” She asked, amazed at what she was hearing. “What? I always thought that guy was a myth!” 

Something jammed itself into her leg, and she stumbled forward. Jason caught her by the arm as she turned to Festus, who was beeping rapidly. She snatched her arm back to her body as she turned to the droid, asking, “What happened? What is it?”

Jason peeked around a tent corner, and she barely had time to see the two Giantroopers that were talking to Atlas before Jason grabbed her hand, urgently heading for tents in the opposite direction.

“What are you _doing?”_ She demanded as he practically dragged her, Festus rolling next to them.

“Just come on!” He shouted. Suddenly, a blaster ripped past her ear and into the cleaning table she was using just yesterday afternoon. 

He continued to hold her hand as they zig-zagged through different tents, making their way past more vendors. She didn’t appreciate how he held onto her, though. “Can you _please_ let go of my hand!?” 

“We’ll move faster this way!” Jason tried to demand, holding onto her tighter. 

She pulled her hand back to her body. “I know how to run without you holding onto my hand! Festus, stay close!” She saw a tent that belonged to some old lady, and she hoped she wouldn’t mind them. “This way!” 

Her companions followed her into the tent with a blaster narrowly missing Jason’s shoulder. They went through the back and into another shop, finding themselves with a vendor who sold baskets. They left through the back in time, having time to see a Giantrooper say into his helmet, “We lost the targets. Call in an airstrike.” 

The three of them took cover, and she turned to Jason to whisper, “They’re shooting at me. Why are they shooting at the two of us?”

Jason blew a rogue strand of hair from his face, then turned back to her to say, “Yeah, they saw you with me. They don’t like me, so now you’re a target too.”

“Oh,” she chuckled a little. “Thank you for that.”

“No one told you to chase me down with a giant stick,” he defended. “Now, does anyone around here sell blasters? We don’t have to buy them, but…” 

She turned to Festus, admittingly a little angry that she got herself tangled in a mess. “Are you okay?” It had to be overwhelming for him; losing his master and having to go on a huge chase only minutes after.

Jason grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth, quieting her. She yanked his wrist to try and pull it off, but he only tightened his grip. His eyes went wide, so he pulled her from the ground as they started running again. 

“Stop taking my hand!” Annabeth shouted as they raced past the trading outpost.

Three TIE Fighters flew into view as they came out from the tent. She yelped when it fired straight at them, sending her and Jason flying, Festus landing right beside them with a loud metal clunk.

The explosion had sent sand and debris into the air, and her head was absolutely pounding. She rolled over to her side, even if it was like a thousand knives into her skin, just to find that Jason had gone unconscious.

This Half-Blood is _not_ dying on her. She turned him over as Festus came over to them, beeping with concern. She slapped at his arm, yelling, “Hey!”

Jason woke up, and he didn’t even check himself for injuries. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking straight at her.

The question took her aback. No one had ever asked her if she was okay, and it touched her that some random dude she met three minutes ago cared to ask. 

“Yeah,” she nodded, smiling at him as she stood. “Follow me.”

They sprinted as fast as they could, weaving through locals as the TIEs dive bombed right next to them. They changed directions and completely made their way out of the outpost and onto the normal sand, but the three TIEs were waiting for them already. 

“We can’t outrun them!” Jason warned. 

She saw a small Hannibal ship; nothing fancy, probably belonged to an import driver. “We might be able to if we take the Hannibal!”

“But we would need a pilot.”

“We’ve got one!” 

“You’re a pilot!?” When she didn’t respond, he pointed to a much larger ship that was semi covered in tarp. “Okay, what about that one?”

“You mean the ship that’s been here since _I_ got here and hasn’t flown once? It’s garbage!” But then the TIEs blasted the Hannibal they were heading towards, so she made a speedy decision. “The garbage will have to do!” 

They turn and run towards the covered ship, to which she slammed on a button on its side to lower the ramp. The ship was almost pure bronze, with white detailing around it. They ran inside as she lifted the ramp, practically throwing herself into the cockpit.

“The gunner’s seat is over here!” Jason yelled as if she could see where he was. “I’mma stay here. But have you ever actually flown this piece of junk?”

Annabeth threw her staff over her shoulder, jumping into the pilot’s seat as Festus rolled into the copilot seat. He couldn’t help her, but she appreciates the support. “I told you earlier that this thing hasn’t seen the sky in years!” She buckles herself in, whispering, “Okay, you’ve got this. You've got this. I can do it, I can do this.” 

The ship blasts away, but the TIEs are on their tail.

The rush of it all was nothing like she’s ever experienced. She’s flown before, but always out of borrowed ships. It was never in anything as big as this, with stakes that actually mattered; something that’s important. 

She aimed straight for the sky, but Jason practically screeched at her, “Woah, woah, woah! No! Go lower! It confuses their tracking!”

“This is a terrible idea!” She yelled back, stretching across to the copilot seat. She switched the controls to stabilize the ship as she started the descent down. “Alright, we’re going low!” 

They dramatically banked at an upward arc, going underneath the giant rock and getting dangerously close to the sand. Festus fell out of the seat and was now swooping all over the place, but before she could say anything, she was distracted by the three TIEs that zoomed past them.

“What are you doing back there?” She demanded. “Are you going to fire back at them?”

“I’m working on it! Are the shields up?”

She had to strain again, reaching for the control that was on the opposite side. “It’s not as easy without a copilot!”

“Try sitting in the gun controls with a swinging chair!” They were rocked by another blast as Jason yelled, “We’re going to have to take cover!” 

She spots a rock formation in the distance. “We’re about to get some!” She grazed a rock, taking a huge chunk of it on purpose. The momentum was enough to bank _hard,_ the edge of the ship making a line in the sand.

Festus used magnetic cables to brace himself in the corridor, and she usually would’ve laughed, but she’s way too panicked right now. So when the alarms started blaring, Annabeth nearly jumped out the ship.

“The cannon got stuck! You’re going to have to lose the last TIE. I hit the other two, though,” Jason informed. 

The ship got hit again, and she was painfully racking her head for a plan. She scanned the area in front of them, and an idea popped in. “Get ready!"

“For what?”

She didn’t answer him, instead steering near a large cave. She was still trying to convince herself that this will still work, even if it’s a one way. The ship grazed against both sides, sparks flying as they started to quickly run out of space.

Before she had time to properly think this through, she steered upward, harder than any other control. So hard, that the ship turned upside down. Never having been upside down, Annabeth panicked and accidentally cut the power with her elbow. 

But Jason started shooting, and she was confused until she realized that he was now facing the TIE head on. He was able to fire at it, destroying it easily into bits. She fired up the engine again, setting the ship right side up. 

They turned around, leaving the cave as she turned on autopilot. She unbuckled her restraint, running past Festus (who was retracting his safety precautions) and through a corridor, meeting Jason in the middle inside of a lounge. 

“That was amazing shooting!” She complimented, full of adrenaline. 

“Thank you!” He smiled at her through his wild hair, no doubt she looked the same. “I’ve seen flying but that- _that_ was flying!”

“Okay, but that last shot? It was literally perfect!”

“Only because you set me up for it.”

They stared at each other, smiling. She found comfort in this moment. Never in her life has she met someone that wasn’t going to screw her over, yet he seemed to be enjoying her company so far, despite how much she’s yelled at him.

Festus beeped at her, so she crouched down next to him. “You’re okay now. He’s with the Half-Bloods too. He’s going to help you home. By good grace, I guess I am too.”

“I don’t know your name.”

She looked up at him, standing from her current position. “I’m Annabeth.”

“I’m Jason…” he hesitated, then said, “Grace. I’m Jason Grace. But I already told you that.”

She smiled at him. It must’ve been nice to tell people a family name. Jason practically winced, though, saying, “Look, Annabeth-”

Whatever he was going to say got cut off by the grating underneath their feet that started smoking. She heard Jason ask something and Festus beep with concern, but she ignored them both as she took the grating off and went below.

An emergency alarm started blaring, and she caught the problem right away. “It’s the motivator. Check for a storage box and grab me a harris wrench!”

She didn’t bother to wait around, instead disappearing down below again. All these technical issues were really overwhelming her. She knew they shouldn’t have grabbed this piece of trash.

“How bad is it?” Jason asked.

“If we’re looking to live, not good.”

“We’re on the Titans radar now. We have to get out of the system before they discover us.”

She popped her head back up, stretching her hand out so he could hand her the wrench. “Festus keeps saying that the Half-Blood base is on a need to know basis, and if we’re going to get out of this mess, _I need to know.”_ She disappeared again, ignoring Jason having a whispered conversation with the droid.

The wrench wouldn’t be enough to tighten up the motivator. The looseness of it is making all the steam come out, and they’d be suffocated in the next ten clicks if they didn’t do something. “Pilex driver, now!” 

Jason got up from the floor to grab her tool. He tossed it to her, and she caught it, waiting for him to tell her the location. “Go ahead, Festus. Tell her the location.” 

She looked at the two of them strangely. They were having a staring contest of sorts, with Jason smiling down at their friend. Finally, Festus beeped out the much needed information. “The Long Island system? Alright.” She went back down, getting to work.

“Yeah, Long Island. Just get us there as fast as you can.”

“I’ll drop the two of you off at the Maine transport.” She noticed a small gap that she couldn’t simply put together with the wrench. “Hand me the bonding tape.”

Jason, she assumed, started looking for the tape, asking, “Wait, what about you?”

“I gotta go back to San Francisco.”

“San Frans- Why does everyone want to go back to San Francisco!?” He sounded like he was about to lose his mind and honestly, so was she.

It’s reasonable, though. While she could go with them to the Half-Blood base, she has a purpose in a completely different system with different people, trying to achieve different goals. It’s not like she’s going back for the heck of it, right?

She brought her head back up, impatient with how long Jason was taking to grab her some tape. “I can see it from here! If we don’t hurry, the propulsion tank is going to loosen up and release all of its poisonous gas into the ship, killing us before we can get anywhere near Maine.”

Festus rolled to the tape, showing Jason where it was at. He tossed it to her, and she went down under again. The rush of the adventure was getting to her. That, or the gas was slowly killing them. Either way, adrenaline pumped through her, and she smiled to herself. This wasn’t half bad.

“Annabeth, you’re a pilot! A damn good one, too,” Jason complimented. “Why are you going back? Do you have a family? Or a boyfriend? You have a cute boyfriend?”

She finally tightened the tank, her cheeks flushing with heat and embarrassment. She popped up as the alarm cut off, steam turning into small clouds of smoke. “That is none of your business.” 

It’s funny, because as of right now, she’s got none of those. But hopefully, when she returns, she’ll get her family back. So technically, he’s right; she’s returning for her family. He doesn’t have to know her full story, though. 

As she was about to fire something back about privacy, all power in the ship went out. Jason helped her out of the grating, Festus right behind her as she headed towards the cockpit. “Well, that can’t be good.” 

Jason followed her, and they both plopped into the seats. They stared at the dead control panels, and her eyes widened when she realized what happened. “Someone is locked onto us. The controls are overridden.”

He stretched across to try to see what she was seeing, but she knocked him back into the copilot seat. Then, he said, “Oh no….”

She looked up and saw a huge freighter above them, its giant hanger open as it swallowed their ship like a whale. Meanwhile, they sat powerless, unable to do anything but play the waiting game.

“It’s the Titans,” Jason said. “It has to be.”

“What do we do?” She asked the person with the most experience fighting the Titans. “There has to be something.”

“Is there still poisonous gas?”

“No, I fixed it.”  
  
“But can you unfix it?”

She understood his plan in an instant. They ran to the lounge, grabbing gas masks that were in the supply cabinet. Whoever owned this ship before has a good history of being poisoned. They took the grating off the floor and hopped in, extending their arms to lower Festus. They tried to help him down, but for such a small droid, he weighed a _ton._

They unexpectedly dropped him onto the floor and onto Jason’s foot, to which she winced for him as he grabbed his foot, collapsing against a wall. She pulled the grating over them, asking, “Will the gas get to the Giantroopers?”

Jason stood, steadying himself as he said, “Yeah. Their masks are to filter out smoke, not gas or toxins.”

When the lights turn back on, the three of them went completely silent. Then, amidst the noiseless ship, they hear, “Mrs. O’Leary, we’re home.”

The grating above their heads was lifted, and they all threw their hands up in surrender. An older man with longish grey hair appeared before them, his beard making him all the more menacing as he held a blaster to them. His most striking appearance was his eyes; his green eyes that seemed to pierce through their souls.

“Where are the others?” He asked. “Where is your pilot?”

Annabeth almost didn’t want to say anything, but… “It’s me. I’m the pilot.”

A hellhound arrived next to the man, moaning, _Her? That can’t be right._

“It’s true!” She protested. “There’s no one else but us and the droid.”

Jason looked at her, puzzled. “You can understand that thing?”

 _“That thing_ can understand you, so I’d watch my mouth, pal,” the man defended.

Annabeth took the first risk, lifting herself out of the grate. Jason followed right behind her, with Festus extending his magnetic arm to pull himself out.

“Where did you get this ship?” The man asked.

“San Francisco,” she replied, staying close to Jason. But if they needed to make a run for it, she doesn’t know where they’d even go.

“That junkyard?” He turned to the hellhound, saying, “I told you we should’ve checked the west coast.”

“It’s nothing but a junkyard,” Jason said pointedly to her. She knows he wants her to stay, but… 

“Where’d you get it from? The Kerkopes?”

“I stole it from Atlas, who had gotten it from the Ourae, who stole it from the Kerkopes.” She wonders why so many people wanted a ship that seemed to be nothing but garbage.

“And the Kerkopes stole it from me! You can go and tell Atlas that Poseidon Jacksonjust stole the Argo back, and it’s mine for good!” He walked away, not aware of the duo that were in awe.

 _Poseidon?_ As in the greatest pilot who ever flew? Poseidon, who came from nowhere and a family of nobodies and made a name for himself? And his _ship!_ There’s no way any of this is real right now.

“This is the Argo?” Annabeth followed them as he sat in the pilot’s seat, the hellhound finding a familiar place in the copilot. “And you’re Poseidon?” 

Poseidon stared at the controls. “I used to be.”

“Wait, Poseidon?” Jason was apparently barely catching up. “As in the war hero and general?”

“Also the smuggler.” To a scavenger, it meant more to her than most people would assume.

Jason leaned towards the hellhound. “But wasn’t he the general too?”

 _Yeah, I guess so,_ it replied. 

“We are on the ship that made the Mediterrerian Run in fourteen paces.” Annabeth had a different kind of awe towards the ship she would see almost everyday.

“Fourteen!?” Poseidon sounded appalled. “Tell whoever said that, I did it in twelve!” He smiled momentarily, then furrowed his eyebrows. “What idiot put a compressor on the ignition line?” 

“Right!” Annabeth had noticed it as soon as she sat down, but had no time within all the chaos. “It was probably Atlas. It puts too much stress on the hyperdrive.”

“-on the hyperdrive,” Poseidon finished, overlapping her. He stared at her for a second, then turned to the hellhound. “Mrs. O’Leary, put them on a pod and leave them on the nearest inhabitable planet.” 

“Wait, no,” Annabeth protested. “We need your help. We have to get this droid to the Half-Blood base as soon as possible.”

Poseidon quirked an eyebrow. “You need my help to get to Camp Half-Blood?”

“Festus is carrying a map to Grover Underwood,” Jason explained. “You knew him, didn’t you? If you are the Poseidon that fought with the old Half-Bloods, then you knew him.”

The thought must’ve struck a cord, obvious by the way Poseidon turned away from them to stare at the controls. “Yeah, I knew him. I knew Grover.”

A loud metal clank was heard before Jason could make the guy they just met any more upset. Poseidon jumped up from his seat to stare at the control panel that showed the outside of the ship. A transport ship was landing on the freighter, not being careful or discreet. 

“Oh, great,” Poseidon moaned. “It’s the Ares girls. They must’ve tracked us from when we stole the chariot.” He and Mrs. O’Leary made their way down a corridor, leading the rest of the group into the lounge. 

“Who are these people?” Annabeth asked, wanting a bit more clarification. 

“They are very scary girls who can probably kill all five of us with their pinky fingers and nothing else,” he explained hastily. “Now, get back in the grating and don’t come out.”

“What about Festus?”

“He’s gonna stay with me for safekeeping until I get rid of the girls, and to make sure you don’t steal my ship. Then you can have him back and be on your merry way.”

“And what exactly are you going to do?”  
  
“What I always do. Talk my way out of things.”

He’s the best smuggler she’s ever heard of, so she’s not denying his talent. But, she does the same thing, and she’s magically talked her way out of plenty of things. She wants to stay on deck to see how this goes down, but knows better than to argue right now.

The grating was pulled on top of them as they heard, “Jackson, you’re a dead man!”

They watched from below as six girls came into the corridor, the one in front with a staff similar to hers, a bandana wrapped around her head, another on her arm. 

“Clarisse,” Poseidon sighed. “What seems to be the problem?”

“You duped us!” Clarisse shouted, banging her staff against the floor. “We were the ones hired by Zeus the Hutt to bring the chariot, then you took it from us and got all the credit! Then, like a coward, you fled from us.”

Annabeth tried to get a clear view of the girls and assess their threat level, but she couldn’t get a good look. “Can you see?”

Jason shook his head in response. “I can only see the blasters they’re all armed with. Plus, the giant stick.”

“Wait!” Clarisse shouted, everyone stopping in their tracks. “That droid. The Titans are looking for one exactly like it. Two fugitives are supposed to come along with it.”

Annabeth turned to Jason, and they froze completely. If anyone made one wrong move, then it’d be over for them. They were in serious trouble, and Poseidon needed to get them out of here _fast._

“Well, that’s the first time I’m hearing anything like it.” Poseidon was smooth when he spoke that she could almost believe they weren’t doing anything wrong.

“Hmm,” Clarisse hummed. “Search the ship.”  
  
“Shit,” Annabeth whispered. There was a junction control box next to her, and in her panic, she closed the blast doors to keep the girls from leaving. Sounded terrible, but she already had a plan in motion.

“What are you _doing?”_ Jason asked, more than a little confused. 

“Trust me.”

If she were Jason, she would _not_ have trusted herself. But she ripped two random fuses out of the box, resetting them to how she found the ship in all its gaseous goodness.

“Here.” She tossed him one of the masks as the gas started to leak out of the grating and onto the main deck. She probably should’ve warned Poseidon, but he gave them very little information regarding this interaction. She could’ve come up with a better plan had she had all the pieces she needed. 

“Kill them!” Clarisse shouted. “Take the droid and find the fugitives!” 

As the girls ran for Poseidon, Annabeth lifted her arms and pushed the grating up, causing the three charging girls to trip over themselves. The other three started exchanging blaster fire with Poseidon, the man yelling at them for being stupid and not staying out of things.

Without her staff, Annabeth didn’t like her chances at taking people she’s never faced before. But Poseidon solved that problem by yelling, “Open the ramp! They’ll land in my freightor.”

Before doing anything, she grabbed two more masks and tossed them to the other duo. Poseidon ran for the cockpit and tilted the ship rightside up, Annabeth and Jason both jumping back into the grating. She slammed her fist into the control panel, lowering the ramp as the girls fell out and onto the other ship.

Poseidon poked his head into the grating, pointing at Annabeth, “Close the ramp and fix the fuze. I’ll be in the cockpit. He turned to Jason, saying, “Clarisse hit Mrs. O’Leary, so I need you to stay with her. Only call me if my hellhound is dying.”

Feeling like she got the better deal of the two, she clicked the button and grabbed the bonding tape from earlier. She quickly wrapped the wires, then leapt out to follow Poseidon into the cockpit. She jumped into the copilot seat, to which he said, “Woah, what are you doing?”

“Knowing Atlas, he usually installs weird upgrades to ships he has-”

“I hate that guy.”

“- and you could use a copilot.”

“I’ve got one.” Poseidon took off his mask, and she followed his example. “She’s back there, injured with someone I didn’t know an hour ago and a droid. Now, strap yourself in. We’re going into lightspeed.” 

He pressed a button, and when nothing happened, he groaned louder than the blaster fire that started to hit the Argo. “Oh, come on girl. Don’t let me down now.”

She reached over him, flipping a switch. “Compressor.”

He rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed that she seemed to know his ship more. He hit the hyperdrive switch, and the stars stretched like elastic as they took off, leaving San Francisco behind in a flash. 

*

Perseus looked up at Supreme Leader Kronos, not happy to have Luke with him in this meeting.

The old man peered down at them. Calling him a man is a stretch, since Kronos is more monster. His gold eyes crinkled, his black hair fanning just above his shoulders. His giant fists were clenched on his throne in the center of the assembly room. 

“The droid will soon be in the arms of the Half-Bloods,” Kronos started. “It will lead them to the last Demigod. If Underwood returns, then a new order of Demigods will rise.”

“Supreme Leader, I take full responsibility-”

Luke was cut off by Kronos shouting, “General! We must come up with a new strategy.” 

“The Nemesis has completed the weapon, and it’s fully installed. We shall use it to destroy the Half-Bloods’ support system. Without any of their friends, they’ll be vulnerable. We’ll be able to stop them before they can reach Underwood.”

Kronos closed his eyes before saying, “Go. Oversee the preparations and find a destination to attack.”

“Yes, Supreme Leader.” Luke turned on his heel and started walking, his cocky smirk nothing but an annoyance to Perseus. 

“There’s been an awakening. I trust you’ve sensed it?” Kronos asked, his voice taking a new edge.

“Yes.” 

“The droid that we’re looking for is aboard the Argo with your father.”

Wow, he never thought he’d be hearing of that dude again. After all the shit that the man did, Perseus assumed he would’ve just stayed away. It seemed like him to take the coward approach and leave, keeping himself out of anything difficult.

His surprise is nothing abnormal. “He means nothing to me.”

“You may be a commander and above everyone here but me, but you have not faced this test.”

“By the grace of your training, I will not be seduced.”

“We’ll see, young one. We shall see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi it's 5 am and I'm literally halfway asleep while I wrote the Clarisse part
> 
> I hope it makes sense but hey at least I edited this


	3. Go On A Roadtrip, They Said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !! TITLE CHANGED FROM NEVER DANCED LIKE THIS BEFORE TO CITY OF STARS. I REALIZED THE LONG TITLE DIDN'T LOOK ATTRACTIVE SO I CHANGED IT. SORRY FOR ANY CONFUSION !!

“Electrical overload!” Poseidon shouted.

Annabeth ran from where she sat in the lounge into the cockpit, pressing buttons and controls that she _hoped_ worked. She knew what she had to do to stop the hyperdrive from blowing, but she had no clue if these were the right controls.

The emergency alarms stopped blaring, and Poseidon stared at her sideways. “What did you do?”

“I bypassed the compressor,” Annabeth sat in the copilot’s seat satisfied. Festus rolled in, chilling next to her. “Atlas must’ve messed it up. I’m guessing he sold certain parts to different sellers. It’s all weird now.”

He looked at her, a little appreciative laugh escaping as she pressed the autopilot. He moved backwards, almost falling over Festus. “Move, ball.” 

She followed behind him to the lounge, where Jason was fiddling with a holochess set, sitting next to Mrs. O’Leary. He looked up at her, smiling as she sat down next to him.

“Good job, kids,” Poseidon smiled. “Thank you, really. I know I’m not brave enough to set poison gas to get the Ares girls away. Everyone did great. Even your little ball.” Jason and Annabeth looked up at him, nodding at him. He leaned against the table, checking out the chess pieces. “So, you’re fugitives?”

“The Titans want the map.” She pat the droid who rolled next to her, to which he beeped happily. “Jason is with the Half-Bloods, but I’m just a scavenger.”

“Hmm…” Poseidon hummed, giving Jason a once over. He looked away from the squirming boy to turn to Annabeth. “So, let’s see what the droid has.”

Festus turned to her, and Annabeth nodded to him. “Go ahead.” 

Festus rolled to the center of the room, and suddenly he was projecting a holographic map, filling the room with stars, planets, and systems. 

To say she was in awe was a serious understatement. She’d never left San Francisco, much less see what the rest of the galaxy looked like. It amazed her to think that so much more can exist outside of her little desert planet. 

Poseidon moved through the room, studying and observing the map. He walked through the stars, almost becoming reflective. “The map isn’t complete. It’s just a piece of it. Ever since Grover disappeared, people have been looking for him.”

“Why did he leave?” Annabeth asked out of curiosity. 

“Ah, well…” He blew air out of his mouth, seemingly trying to control himself. “He started to train a new generation of Demigods. There was a boy… He turned against Grover, destroying everything when he fell to the dark side. Grover felt responsible for it, so he walked away.”

“What happened to him?” Jason asked, just as curious.

“There were a lot of rumors from people who think they knew him best,” Poseidon explained. “A lot of people think he went looking for the first Demigod temple.”

The word ‘Demigod’ barely processed in her mind. “Wait, the Demigods were real?”

Poseidon let out a loose chuckle. “Yeah, I used to think the same thing. I always thought it was some weird wizard crap, with all the magic mumbo jumbo and talk of the light and dark side.” He paused to look her in the eye. “The crazy part is it’s all true. The Force and the Demigods all exist.”

Just like Grover Underwood, the Demigods and Force were just bedtime stories she’d heard in the trading outpost. The dark side was nothing but a tactic to scare kids into thinking some evil girl was coming to attack them. How much of it is true?

Yeah, she knew the old Half-Bloods were a thing and real. But it always seemed like a different war, from what she was told. Some bad people wanted to pick a fight with the entire galaxy; that’s about the extent of what she’s heard. But the fact that it’s all real? 

Festus cut the projection off, and she was a little sad to see it leave. It sucked that she never knew how large the galaxy is, and to see an incomplete part of it was truly amazing. It almost made her want to explore more of it. She was almost prepared to take the first random ship she saw and take it to travel the galaxy. She could deliver Festus, and he might be able to come with her. It’s not like he had a master anyways.

Almost. 

She still has something in San Francisco. This kind of adventurous lifestyle would never work. The traveling and exploring is not meant for Annabeth. She knows her place as a scavenger. She’s just Annabeth, and she’s content with that.

Just Annabeth doesn’t need a big, huge adventure to be happy. She was perfectly fine where she was, waiting for her parents. Once they came back for her, then she would be able to have her adventure. All she had to do was be a little more patient.

“You wanted my help?” Poseidon raised an eyebrow towards her and Jason. “You’re getting it. We’re going to see one of my old friends. She’ll help you get your droid home. And _this_ is our stop.”

He left the cockpit, Annabeth and Jason following. The Argo dropped out of lightspeed, and the sight through the windshield made her cover her mouth to hide her gasp. She could feel tears well up in her eyes, but she pushed them down. 

“I never knew there was this much green in the galaxy..” She said quietly.

It was an endless green forest, and it made her stupidly vulnerable. The amazement and wonder that was now building up in her body almost made her fly off the ramp and into the giant lake that was below them. 

Poseidon flew towards a castle, landing among dozens of other small ships. She ran from the cockpit, past Mrs. O’Leary and Festus having a conversation and onto the lowering ramp. The towering castle, forest on one side and lake on the other… it was all so serene and beautiful, also completely new. 

She’d only ever seen sand. Sand stretching across thousands of miles. In every direction you walked, you would only see sand. There was never any excitement, or any plants that naturally grew. But all this _green,_ life _…_

Poseidon appeared next to her, and she turned away from the castle. He handed her a blaster, watching her intensely. “You’ll need this.”

Only then she realized she forgot to strap her staff to her back. But still, the man was already showing them so much kindness. She couldn't take his stuff. “I can handle myself.”

“I know you can. That’s why I’m giving it to you. Take it, it’ll make me feel better if anything.”

She gripped the blaster, not really knowing what to do with it. He looked at her sideways, chuckling to himself as he asked, “Do you know how to use it?”

No. “Yeah, you just squeeze the trigger.”

“There’s a _little_ bit more to it than that. You still got a lot to learn.” He pushed his hair to one side to get a good look at her. “Do you have a name?”

“I’m Annabeth.”

“Annabeth,” he smiled. “I’ve been thinking for a while now… I need some more crew, Annabeth. A second hand. Someone to help out, I should say. But I need someone who can keep up with me and Mrs. O’Leary while appreciating the Argo.”

She realized what he was saying. She turned to him, a grin spreading across her face. “Are you offering me a job?”

“It wouldn’t be very nice to you,” he admitted. “It doesn’t pay much.”

“But you’re offering me a job?” It doesn’t matter how rude it is. A job that can get her more than just half a portion for nine pounds of scrap sounds amazing.

“I’m thinking about it, yes.” She opens her mouth to accept it, but she knows she can’t. It goes beyond a line she can’t cross. “So? What do you say?”

“I’d be flattered if when you finished thinking, it’d be a real offer…” She closes her eyes to regain her composure, opening them again when she was ready. “But I have to get home.”

“What, you mean San Francisco?”

She looked away. To her, he’d just offered her the world. But she already has her world. All she had to do was wait a little longer. “Yeah, San Francisco. I’ve been away for too long.”

Poseidon sighed, then turned back to the Argo. “Leary, check out the ship the best you can.” Then, he looked at her and said, “It’s a shame, really. Leary was really beginning to like you.”

Jason headed over to the pair, standing next to her as Poseidon began to walk them towards the castle. Festus rolled circles around them, beeping about how happy he was to finally be away from sand.

Oh, how she could relate but completely disagree. 

She doesn’t like San Francisco. It’s the truth, but she always tried to convince herself otherwise to keep from going insane. She hates how hot it gets, yet the temperature freezes as soon as it hits winter. She hates the people there, and how Atlas found enjoyment in harassing her to get her riled up.

It never worked, because she refused to let him see. But half a portion for the nine pounds of scrap that she had found? Plus, she had Festus with her so everything was already a big mess. Her emotions were all over the place, so she let herself _feel_ for once.

She hated not being able to do what she truly loves. And while yeah, maybe her wishes in a galaxy full of so much conflict weren’t important, it still meant something to her. 

But when it came down to it all, she’d do it all over again. While she may dream of piloting across the stars, feeling the drop in her stomach as she went into lightspeed and made crazy runs like the Mediterrarian, none of it came close to her parents. 

That’s how she controls her desires that have never been stronger than today. When they come back for her, she’ll tell them the story of helping Jason Grace, a Half-Blood fighter, deliver the most valuable droid in the galaxy to Camp Half-Blood. 

She’d tell them about Poseidon, and how the ex general told her about the Demigods and the Force. She’d heard from none other than the most well known smuggler that they aren’t merely bedtime stories. Then, she’d explain how he and his hellhound offered her a job, but she denied it to be with them. 

As soon as Festus is delivered, she’d go straight back to San Francisco. Annabeth couldn’t wait to tell them about this, and stick it in Atlas’ face. 

“Poseidon, why are we here again?” Jason asked. 

“We need to get your droid on a clean ship.”

“Clean ship?” What was wrong with what they were doing?

“It wasn’t just luck that me and Leary found the Argo. We were able to find it on our scanners, and if the two most under qualified people can see it, then so can the Titans. If you want to get Festus to the Half-Bloods, Reyna is your best bet.”

Jason, ever the interviewer, asked, “We can trust her, right?”

Poseidon rolled his eyes. “Relax, kid. She’s been in this place and running this watering hole since she was capable. You’ll realize quickly that Reyna has acquired taste, so just let me do the talking. And the number one rule is to _not stare.”_

“At what?”

“Any of it.”

While she would appreciate him being a little less cryptic, they had arrived at the castle doors, so he probably had no time to actually say anything. 

The doors opened, the music and madness nearly giving her whiplash. Even the trading outpost during the summer when everyone was bargaining with Atlas for water was never this busy. She’s never seen anything nearly as occupied as this crowded mess in the middle of some random castle.

They walked until they were behind a tall girl with a black braid running down her back, purple robes decorating her body. “This is Reyna Arellano,” he introduced.

The girl looked intimidating, with beady black eyes and a sharp jawline. Then, she broke out into a huge grin, immediately making her nonthreatening. “Poseidon Jackson!”

Everyone went silent, turning to look at Poseidon. Well, she couldn’t blame them. She did the exact same thing when she met him. He waved them off awkwardly. “It’s okay, people. Go back to what you were doing. Hey, Reyna!”

“Hey, where’s your hellhound?” Reyna asked, ignoring both Jason and Annabeth. 

“Little Leary is working on the Argo,” Poseidon informed. “We actually found it, matter of fact.”

“I like that hellhound.” She smiled again, then dropped her voice to say, “I assume you need something, and you need it fast if you’re desperate enough to come here. Let’s go.”

She gestured for them to follow, but they didn’t know if that included Jason and Annabeth. Poseidon rolled his eyes, indicating that this includes them too. Moments later, they made their way into a secluded alcove and to a table as Poseidon explained their situation.

“A map to Underwood himself?” Reyna asked, almost scoffing to herself. “You are right back in the mess.”

“You need to get the droid to Sally,” Poseidon cut in. 

“No!” Jason and Annabeth turned to each other, concerned for what this meant for their mission. “You’ve been running away for too long. You can’t keep away from this fight. Go home!” 

He wasn’t here for this therapy session. “Sally doesn’t want to see me.”

“Look, we can talk about this fight later,” Jason intervened. “Can you help us? Please?”

“I haven’t been here for very long, but I’ve seen evil in many forms,” Reyna ignored Jason, continuing to speak. “There was Tartarus led by Darth Pluto in the old days. Now, it’s against the Titans. Always a fight against the dark side. We must unite as a galaxy and fight them!” 

“There is no fight,” Jason protested. “No one can win against the Titans. We have to have been recognized already. I bet everything I have that the Titans are already on their way.”

She’s always heard of the Half-Bloods never giving up hope, even in times where everything is going wrong. It surprised her to see him talking this way when he’s done nothing but keep his head up throughout this mess. If this is him about to break, how are the rest of the Half-Bloods during this? 

“Hmm…” Reyna leaned across the table and got impossibly close to Jason, staring him down as he turned to Poseidon, “Woah, what the heck is she doing?”

“I have no clue but it can’t be good.”

“When you’ve seen as much as I have, you begin to see the same eyes in different people.” Reyna went back to her seat, looking satisfied. “You have the eyes of a man who wants to run.”

Annabeth turned to him in confusion as he glanced at her, then settled his gaze on Reyna. “You know nothing about me. You don’t know where I’m from or what I’ve seen. Trust me, you don’t know the Titans more than I do. We need to _run.”_

She was stunned. He mentioned leaving the system, but not in the middle of his mission! On the other hand, Reyna wasn’t shocked at all. She nodded at a table with some pirates. “They’ll trade work for transportation. They can take you to Oregon, and you’ll disappear.”

He turned to the pirates like he was actually considering it. What in the galaxy is he _thinking?_ “Jason!” 

Jason didn’t even try to deny it. He turned to her with a completely serious face. “Come with me.”

“What about Festus?” She glanced at everyone at the table, but no one else seemed surprised. If anything, they looked like they were expecting this. Poseidon hung his head as Reyna stared at them as if she were watching a tennis match. “We aren’t done. We have to get him to your base.”

“I can’t!” Jason stood and offered the blaster back to Poseidon, but the man shook his head. Jason ran off, and Annabeth immediately followed, leaving Festus to roll behind her.

What the hell is he doing? He was the one who told her that it would be foolish to run back to San Francisco, and now he’s trying to tell her to come with him so they could abandon the mission he brought her on? He isn’t making any sense, and it’s really pissing her off. 

“I heard you can get me to Oregon,” Jason said as he approached the pirates.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She interrupted the conversation, not caring to be polite.

He sighed and looked at the pirates. “Don’t leave without me.” He grabbed her by the arm and led her away from the table. As if she wouldn’t make a scene no matter where they went.

“I’m not going to let you go.” After Festus lost his master and urgently had somewhere to be, he was not going to leave her now. “You can’t just go.”

“I’m not who you think I am!” He bowed his head, refusing to look at her.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not a Half-Blood. I’m no hero. I’m a Giantrooper.” _What?_ “Just like all of them, I was taken from a family that I would never know. We were raised and conditioned to do one thing. But I was in my first battle where I met Festus’ master. I made a choice to not kill for the Titans, so I ran.”

Before she could cut in to yell at him for lying to her, he continued, “But I ran into _you._ You looked at me in a way that no one ever has; with emotion. It made me ashamed of what I’ve done. I’m done with the Titans. _Please_ , come with me, Annabeth.”

She couldn’t go. Jason, even if he wasn’t with the Half-Bloods, he had given her so much more than she could ask. She’s actually on a different planet that isn’t San Francisco because she joined him in the first place. She’d seen so much forest and water and the _stars._ He couldn’t leave her now.

“Don’t go,” she pleaded.

Jason closed his eyes, then opened them again to look at her. “Take care of yourself, please.”

She watched as he walked past her and back to the pirates, absolutely crushed. The pirates stood and walked out the door with him behind them, her simply watching with quiet resignation. Her heart fell to her toes, but she was quickly distracted by the sound of a girl crying. She turned away from the door, refusing to look at Jason as she followed the cry.

The cry led her to basement steps, which she stepped down as Festus followed behind her. Did he watch as Jason left with his master’s jacket? The echoing sounds of a girl crying led her to a corridor with a table that had a wooden box on top of it.

She hesitantly walked over to it, tension filling in the air around her. With some stalling, she slowly reached her hand out to the box. She opened it to see what looked like those plasma swords she’d seen in pictures of the Demigods. But when she reached out to touch it, a loud noise ripped through the silence, and suddenly the crying girl was in front of her.

“No!” The little girl screamed. She got closer and recognized it as… as _herself?_

She tried to run away from the sight because she knew exactly what this moment was. She went down the corridor, but the room started to tilt until she landed on rock. She had no idea what was going on, and her eyes started to water. She’s never experienced anything like this, and it was starting to overwhelm her. 

“I saw your ship,” a man said, coming off of a ramp. He was very tall, his muscles built and strong. 

“Frank, what are you doing here?” A girl walked over to the man, her gold eyes blazing as flames licked the scene. 

“Hazel, I’m worried!” He exclaimed. “Sammy told me terrible things. He said you turned to the dark side. That you… killed Legacies.”

“Samuel is trying to turn you against me!” Hazel growled.

“No, he’s not!” Frank protested, getting closer to the unstable girl. “He cares about us, Hazel. He _knows_ about us, the babies, everything. Please, Hazel. I just want your love."

“Love can’t save us, Frank.” She looked at him through her gold eyes. “Only my new powers can do that.”

“But at what cost?” His pleading didn’t seem to be working, and he knew it. “You are a good person. Don’t do this, please.”

“I already lost my mother, and I refuse to lose you too,” Hazel explained. “I am more powerful than any Demigod has ever known. I’m doing this to protect you. I can overthrow Chancellor Gaea, and we’ll have everything we’ve ever wanted. We can rule the galaxy together and make things the way we want them to be.”

“Just come with me and raise the children..” Frank tried again. “They’re in the Demigod temple, waiting for you to return-”

“Why did you take them there!?” Hazel shouted, pure agony in her voice. “I destroyed the temple! I set it on fire and brought it down to nothing but rubble! The children are _gone,_ Frank! They’re gone!”

“I don’t believe what I’m hearing,” Frank covered his mouth, tears threatening to spill. “Sammy was right. You turned to the dark side.”

“I don’t want to hear anymore about Samuel!” Hazel screeched, the pain of losing her children too much to hear. “My old master has turned you against me. The Demigods turned their backs on me! You can’t turn against me too!” 

“You’re breaking my heart, Hazel,” Frank continued. “I don’t think I know you anymore. You’re going down a path that I can’t follow.”

“Why? Because of Sammy?”

“Because of what you’ve done!” He gestured to the fiery planet around him. “And what you’re planning to do. You have terrible plans for the future. Stop now, while you can. Please. I love you.”

On the ramp of the ship, another figure approached the scene. Hazel’s gold eyes burned with hatred and anger as she shouted, “Liar!” She raised her hand as Frank was lifted into the air. “You’re with him! You brought him here to kill me!” 

The scene changed as the unknown figure ignited his lightsaber, charging towards the duo as Frank collapsed to the floor. 

It was Annabeth as a child, sobbing crying in the arms of Atlas, who lazily held her by the arm. She was on San Francisco, watching as a spaceship that she desperately wanted to be on left without her. Her parents, now Jason… 

“Quiet, you!” Atlas yelled, his meaty hand wrapped around her thin arm. She kept trying to dislodge herself as if she could follow them into the sky. She would’ve piloted into the sun at that moment if it meant she could go with them. She _needed_ to go with them, but Atlas’ grip never faltered.

The ship continued to fly toward the desert sun as Atlas dragged her away, her world being flipped again as she found herself in a dark room, illuminated by a purple light. She walked up a couple steps to be met with a throne, a man with long, black hair and sea green eyes identical to Poseidon. 

She got a sharp pain in her body that she’s only ever felt once, at thirteen years old. She couldn’t explain what it was, but she had nightmares everyday for a week straight. It happened around the same time the Titans started to take over, and her mind was clouded only with thoughts on how she could kill everyone in the trading outpost and take their stuff. 

“Sweetheart, how did it go?” The man asked, his eyes boring into hers. 

Annabeth was looking at herself in a dark robe, but the same golden eyes that Hazel had. “Don’t worry, Valdez is dead. I made sure he watched his precious lover die first.”

He smirked. “That’s my girl.”

Annabeth backed away from the man as he smirked, her heart pounding as she lost her footing and landed back in the basement corridor.

Her breathing was unsteady, and she desperately wanted to break into tears. She’d seen what looked like a private moment between three people, relived the worst day of her life, and she didn’t even _know_ what that last one was, but she didn’t like the way she interacted with that man. She didn’t like any of it. Jason leaves for two minutes, and it all goes to hell.

She heard a noise at the end of the corridor, and she jumped about five feet in the air before she realized it was just Reyna. “What was that?” She demanded. “I shouldn’t have seen that.”

“That lightsaber was Grover’s, and before that, his mother,” Reyna explained. “She named it Spatha, and now it calls to you!” 

She stood up fast. If the lightsaber was going to do that every time she touched it, she refused to let it call her. “I have to get back to San Francisco.”

“Poseidon told me.” Reyna reached out to grab Annabeth’s hand, keeping her in place. “I can see it in your eyes as you speak about it. Whoever you’re waiting for on San Francisco… They’re not coming back. But there’s someone who still could.”

She swallowed a hard lump in her throat. “Grover.”

“I am not a Demigod, but I know how the Force works. It’s moving through us and surrounding every living thing. Feel it. I know you can.” Reyna let go of her hand to open the box with the lightsaber in it, Spatha in full glory. “The light is inside you, and it will guide you. Take the lightsaber.”

She doesn’t know what’s considered rude to someone like Reyna, but she backed away anyways. Her emotions are too all over the place for her to even think about being polite. “I am not touching that thing again. I don’t want anything to do with this.”

Suddenly, she understood Jason’s motivation for leaving. It still doesn’t explain why he lied to her, but she could see why he can’t deal with all this. If _this_ is what the good guys have to go through as they fight, then what’s the point? It’ll end in pain and suffering anyways. 

Annabeth turned on her heel, running with Festus tight behind her, leaving Reyna alone in a basement corridor with a lightsaber.

*

Jason wasn’t going to go back, he swears. 

But he saw the Nemesis firing, and all the explosions in the sky… He thanked the pirates for their time, turned around, and made his way to go find Poseidon and Annabeth. Mainly because he knows the Nemesis, and he knew what they were firing on. 

He found Poseidon and Mrs. O’Leary outside of the castle, looking up at the sky in horror. “The Titans have fired on any alliances the Half-Bloods have.” After a beat, he realized who wasn’t in their little role call. “Where’s Annabeth?” 

As a fleet of Titan ships arrived overhead, Poseidon turned to him in confusion. “The last time I saw her, she was running after you to get you to come back.”

Shit… _Where the hell is Annabeth?_

“I’ve had this for ages!” Reyna came running over to them, holding the hilt of a lightsaber. Where is that from? She held it out in front of Jason, and he just looked at it. “I’ve kept it locked up."

“Where did you get that from?” Poseidon asked, watching it intensely. 

“My friend, Echo. She likes shiny things, but that’s a story for another time!” She pushed the lightsaber closer to Jason, but he still didn’t want to take it. “Go find your friend! Annabeth and Festus need you!”

Poseidon gestured to his hellhound, waiting for Jason to decide what he was going to do. “I don’t have a good weapon.” Even if he kept the blaster, it’d do nothing against the Titans.

As the TIE Fighters started to fire on the planet, destroying the once beautiful property, Reyna grabbed his wrist and put the lightsaber in his hand. “You do now!” 

He’s only ever seen a lightsaber once, and it was when the Commander decided to attack a wall for some reason. He ignited Riptide in full, eerie glory. He wanted to be done with the stupid things after that, but whatever needs to happen is going to happen. He turned it on, the lightsaber a bright blue color. 

Poseidon and Mrs. O’Leary ran for cover as the beloved castle endeared endless blasts. Jason stood frozen as Reyna ran off and a Giantrooper found him. “Traitor!” The trooper yelled, aiming his own blaster at him. 

Right before Jason is about to swing the big plasma stick, the trooper aimed for his feet. In trying to dodge it, he knocked himself to the floor, and the trooper had a clean shot. Well, coming back and trying to fix his mistake was fun while it lasted. 

He’s sure the trooper is about to end him, but a blaster fire went through the armor, the trooper tipping over and falling. Poseidon ran over to him, helping him up as he teased, “Need a hand, big deal?”

Jason cringed, remembering his earlier words from when Annabeth wasn’t around. “Thanks."

“Don’t move!” 

They turned to see over ten Giantroopers running over to them, their blasters at the ready as one of them reported having the targets. There was no way out. They have _got_ to stop doing this. They dropped their weapons, putting their hands in the air. Annabeth and Festus were nowhere to be found. He needed to find her, _now._

A roar ripped across the lake. Everyone, including the Giantroopers, turned to see what the sound was. X-Wings flew into view, firing at the TIEs with everything they’ve got.

“It’s the Half-Bloods…” Poseidon whispered. 

One of the X-Wings flew right next to the Giantroopers, sending them scattering. How did they not manage to hit them? Whoever was in that thing is a hell of a pilot. They picked up their weapons, Poseidon whooping as they now had a fighting chance. 

Jason swung the lightsaber at any Giantrooper that came his way. They all sneered things at him, but he couldn’t care less. At least, that’s what he _thought._

Taking a glance into the forest, he noticed the Commander in his black robes and mask, carrying a limp Annabeth in his arms into his personal shuttle. His heart shattered, knowing he shouldn't have left. He should’ve stayed with her. 

“No! _Annabeth!”_

He tried to run through the blasts and explosions to Perseus, but he couldn’t make it on time. The shuttle took off as he tried desperately to reach it. It might be a personal shuttle, but it was still almost as big as the Nemesis. “No, no, no! _Annabeth!”_

Every Titan ship started to make their descent back into the sky, Annabeth one of their prisoners. He saw Leo after torture, which wasn’t pretty. If they find out she knows where the map is at… They didn’t have Festus with them, and that’s the only thing he can say he’s grateful for. 

“They took her!” Jason moaned to Poseidon as the Half-Blood ships landed on the grass. “They…”

“I know.” Poseidon watched the lowering ramp of a specific transport before turning back to Jason, empathy in his eyes. “Trust me, I know.”

He shouldn’t have left. If he had stayed with her, or at least made sure she’d gotten back to San Francisco safe, he might not have been able to prevent it, but at least he’d be with her. Now, he has to leave her alone in the arms of the most dangerous man he knows.

Festus rolled up beside him, chirping with low beeps. Okay, at least the map would be safe. It would’ve all been for nothing had the Titans captured him too. So then why did they bother taking Annabeth? What purpose did she hold?

The transport door opened, and a beautiful, elderly woman stood there with a blaster at her hip. He glanced at Poseidon, who watched her with wide eyes that were both joyous and nervous. Within the smoke embers, no one said anything as she walked over to them.

A one eyed droid waddled alongside the woman, waving his arms around like a madman. “Poseidon Jackson! Goodness gracious! It’s me, Tyson!” He stopped when they landed in front of him, turning to the woman and back to Poseidon. “You probably don’t recognize me because I only have one eye.”

Poseidon sighed, opening his mouth to say something before Tyson cut him off again. “Sally, did you see who it is? Look who it is! Excuse me, General Sally. Come along, little ball. Quickly.” Festus beeped in response, probably glad to finally find another droid. “I must leave you four alone now.” Tyson walked off, Festus rolling behind him as they chatted away.

So, this is Sally. This is the woman he’s been lying about to Annabeth, pretending this is his boss lady he worked for. It’s a strange thing, really, to see her. Maybe she’d actually be able to help him, and it wouldn’t be a complete lie. 

Poseidon watched Sally with interest, observing every little detail about her. “You changed your hair,” he managed to croak out. 

The greatest smuggler of all time and war hero blushed a deep shade of red when she responded, “I see you still have the same jacket.”

He was flustered by the comment, picking at the collar. “No, it’s a new one.”

Mrs. O’Leary moaned when she saw Sally, running circles around the General. She hardly cast Poseidon a glance as she ran on board. Jason followed as Poseidon led them to the Argo, but he and the General boarded it almost painfully.

“Sally, I saw him…” Poseidon looked away, unable to look at anyone as the ship took off. “I saw our son. He was here.”

_Son?_

There’s no way he’s talking about… Is he? First of all, Poseidon said _our_ son. So… Sally and Poseidon had a kid? Hold up, they were a thing? His mind was going all over the place, just trying to keep up with everything. 

They followed behind a X-Wing, leading their way to another planet with large, moss terrain. “Welcome to Camp Half-Blood,” Sally said, gesturing to the land. 

When they landed, he saw Festus roll off the other ship faster than he’s ever seen a droid go. He found a pilot who was getting off a X-Wing, and Jason got off the ramp to follow him. The pilot took his helmet off and he saw… 

_Leo?_

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Leo kneeled down, having a heart whelming reunion with his droid. Leo looked up from Festus and made eye contact with Jason, who broke out into a huge grin. They were both in disbelief, staring at each other for a beat. 

Jason gestured to him in pure amazement that he’s alive. How is he alive? “Leo! Leo Valdez!” He ran over to him, the pilot meeting him in the middle. They embraced in a hug, and Jason nuzzled his face into the man’s neck. He didn’t care if it was weird. His emotions were all over the place, and he needed someone to be there with him since he lost the other girl. “You’re alive!”

“So are you!” Leo pulled away to look at Jason’s face, grabbing the back of his neck for a moment before letting go. 

“What happened?” When the TIE they were on crashed, the entire ship had gotten sucked into the sand. He didn’t find anyone until Annabeth when he traveled into the trading outpost.

“I was thrown from the crash and I woke up at night. I didn’t find you, or the ship, nothing!” He paused as his droid interrupted with a rather loud beep, then rolled off to go find Sally. “Festus says that you saved him.”

“No, it wasn’t just me..” He took that moment to remember his friend that’s on Perseus’ shuttle without her staff, or Grover’s lightsaber, or any real defense. 

“You brought Festus back to the Half-Bloods. You completed my mission, Jason.” It had been Annabeth who completed most of anything, and before he could correct him, Leo did a double take. “That’s my jacket.” 

Jason started taking it off, forgetting that he literally stole it. “Oh, here. Forgot about that-”

Leo lifted his hand to stop him. “No, no. It suits you.” He smiled a toothy grin, watching in the distance how Poseidon fidgeted around Sally, then redirected his attention back to him. “You’re a good man, Jason.”

Festus came back, chirping nonsense to Leo with Tyson tight behind him. “No, little ball. You saw Blackjack, but he’s been deactivated since Grover left, and never turned on again. C’mon, we must go tell the General that the map is incomplete.” 

Leo’s face fell. “It’s incomplete?” 

Jason nodded, then thought back to Annabeth, and how she could probably find the rest of the map if she tried. “Leo, I need your help.”

*

As soon as the explosions started, Annabeth turned to Festus to make him leave. 

She didn’t know what was going on, in her defense. She saw Reyna’s castle being blasted by Titans and TIEs, which in itself made her panic. It was the second time that day where she’d been chased by those things, and she didn’t appreciate how much they came looking for her.

But she knew she messed up when a filtered radio call got her attention. She turned her head to see three Giantroopers who had spotted her with Festus. She wasn’t worried for her safety as much as his. He had what the Half-Bloods needed, and what the Titans wanted. Well, that’s what she gets for running to the woods by herself. 

She shot at Giantroopers that came her way with the blaster Poseidon gave her, but her aim seriously needed help. How could she have forgotten to get her staff off of the Argo? “You have to go! Stay out of sight, and as soon as I fight them off I’ll come back for you.”

Even though he could clearly see her fear as she stunned another trooper, he beeped bravely for her, mentioning how she reminded him of his master. He rolled off as she ran and hid for cover behind a tree, terrified of now being alone. 

She couldn’t stay with Festus. It would’ve been selfish for her to call him back just because she didn’t want to be alone. If she survived over ten years of loneliness, she could do it again. Even if the stakes are raised and she could be killed at any minute in the name of the Titans.... No, she’s okay. She’s got this. 

Then, she heard it.

It was a familiar sound she had heard while in the basement. It was a whooshing sound that cut through the air, though she didn’t dare move from the tree. It had come from a lightsaber, but her gut told her it isn’t Hazel’s. If she made any noise, the pursuer would find her, and she’d be done for. The stakes escalated every second. 

She knew it wasn’t anyone who was on her side. If it were, they would be calling out for her. No, the person stalking in the woods is creeping, trying to sneak up on her. They were _looking for her._ Did Festus get away?

Suddenly, a red lightsaber appeared in her vision. She yelped, moving from the tree to shoot at the attacker. She saw a person dressed in black robes, his black mask illuminated red from his lightsaber. From today alone, she’d seen two lightsabers, and she didn’t like them. 

Annabeth used her blaster to fire at the person, but a low chuckle arose from their throat as they deflected every shot with their lightsaber. As ferocious as she fired, this person continued to persistently go at it. It finally stopped when they raised their hand toward her. Her body stopped responding to her, and everything ceased to move.

She’d seen this in the basement. She saw Hazel do it to Frank. She’d seen-

“The girl I’ve heard so much about…” The person was a man with a low voice, sounding like a machine through his mask. He stalked forward, walking circles around her. “The droid..” He came around to see her face, his mask nearly touching her forehead as he lifted his lightsaber to illuminate her terrified expression. “Where is it?”

Even if she wanted to (she didn’t), she couldn’t tell him the location of Festus. Her limbs remain unmoving, her lips not being able to speak a single word. She wanted to bite through her fear and tell him to go harass someone else, but her words wouldn’t spill. 

He turned off his lightsaber, and pressed a button on the hilt as it retracted into a pen. She didn’t see Hazel’s lightsaber do that when it turned off. He reached toward her face, only centimeters away from touching her jaw. She couldn’t even flinch as his gloved hands got near her. She tried to strain whatever he had done to her, but was only met with agony. He removed his hand to her relief, but was terrified of the satisfied sound he made.

“You’ve seen the map,” he concluded.

 _What?_ How was he able to tell? She wasn’t even thinking about it. What did he even do? She’s never heard of anything like that. There’s no way he got that just because he froze her. It wasn’t possible. Right? She’s horrified because she doesn’t even know what he did to take the information from her mind. 

This time, he clasped his hand under her jaw, the cool leather of the glove burning her skin. What else is this man stealing from her? What more does he want to do with her? His mask was inches away from her face, and she could practically feel the metal branded on her. 

As he was about to continue, a Giantrooper approached them from the woods. He ignored her, instead focusing on the man. “Sir, the Half-Bloods are here. We need more troops.”

Relief surged through her body. Okay, so it’s possible that Festus made his way back to the others. Poseidon or Mrs. O’Leary could’ve found him. She only stared at the stars of the map. She couldn’t tell anyone where Grover Underwood was even if she tried. 

The man looked away from the trooper to turn to her, his hand still on her face. “Pull the squadrons out and forget about the droid.” If his mask had an intense gaze, he was definitely giving it to her right now. “We have all we need here.”

Annabeth didn’t have time to register what he was doing when he waved his hand in front of her, the world around her fading quickly into darkness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the title change, I made the decision as I was publishing this chapter and I'm not turning back lol
> 
> Happy 4/20 from indoors. It's great
> 
> Also while writing this I realized to probably made more sense for Frank to be Anakin because he's somewhat related to Percy, but I REALLY like the idea of badass dark side powerful sith Hazel so I continued on
> 
> Anyways Darth Vader ily <3


	4. Capri Sun Captain

Annabeth woke up disoriented, angled upright on a restraining rig. 

She tried to get a look at her surroundings only to find the masked man crouching by the door, his hands delicately in his lap. She struggled against the restraints to no avail as he watched her. She wondered if he was frozen, not able to respond to anything as she was in the woods.

“Who are you? She demanded, settling against the rig. “Where am I?”

“My name is Perseus, Commander of the Titans.” He paused for a beat, his mask unmoving. “You’re my guest.”

In the woods, she saw what looked like thousands of Giantroopers. She would’ve thought that there’d be at least one standing guard. But in this tiny room, it was just them two. “Where are the others?”

“You mean the murder, traitor, and theif you call a friend?” He thought she was talking about Jason, but a protective surge ran through her body as he scoffed. “I think you’ll be relieved to hear I don’t have any clue on his whereabouts.”

When had he seen Jason? The ex Giantrooper (which she still hasn’t processed) had left before the attack started. If he was lucky, he and the pirates were gone before the Titans ever landed. Why would Perseus know about him? What exactly does he know about her?

She studied the mask, wishing she could survey him the way he could her. She’s spent less than ten seconds around him, yet he seemed to know who her friends are and what she’s seen in the past day. Anger settled in her veins. How dare he invade her like that? She doesn’t know who this man, this _Perseus_ is, yet he’s trying to learn every detail about her.

If he did, he would know that she can keep her anger in place and hide it well. But he brought it out… Besides Atlas, she’s _never_ let any of her emotions become transparent. Why is she reacting this way to someone she’s never met? Oh, probably because he fired on a beautiful planet and kidnapped her, reading her mind and invading her. 

“You still want to hurt me,” Perseus chuckled, the mask making it raspy and eerie. 

“You’d feel the same if you were being hunted by a creature in a mask,” she spit out with venom in her voice. She struggled once more, but knew the restraints weren’t going anywhere. Does Jason even know where she’s at? Poseidon or Reyna? Would they save her from this prison that he brought her too?

There was a pause where he hummed, considering what she said. He moved his hands, unlatching his mask and removing the it as he stood. She saw the face of the man, and… 

Annabeth was stunned, all air escaping her lungs. She winded herself as she stared at the same piercing green eyes and messy, curly black hair that was in the basement. He was in front of her, smirking at her reaction to him. She took a second to regain her composure, having been caught off guard from seeing him. _Again._

He sauntered up to her, a hint of amusement on his lips. “Tell me about the droid.”

“He’s an automaton unit,” she responded. She saw him roll his eyes, not happy with her. 

“He’s carrying a piece of a navigational chart,” Perseus said, pointing out what they both knew. “We have the rest of the map. We collected it from the archives of Tartarus. We need the missing section, which you convinced the droid to show you. _You,_ a scavenger.”

Her eyes widened, goosebumps settling on her body. How did he know that? How does he seem to know almost everything? She doesn’t have much backstory, so how does he know one of the most important details about her?

He moved closer, his face only centimeters away from hers. His breath was hot on her cheek, his gaze doing things she doesn’t understand. He was looking at her with such intensity that she didn’t know how to react. “You know I can take whatever I want.”

A visible shiver ran down her spine, and he smiled. He stopped in front of her, his hands lying next to her head. He had her caged in exactly where he wanted her. She recoiled, but she had nowhere to go. It reminded her of the way he looked at her in the basement vision, and she started straining with agony.

He moved one of his hands near her face, and she couldn’t move again. It was the same thing as in the woods, but now in a much more secluded environment. She tried to resist his probing, but his cruel laughter told her it didn’t work. “You’re so lonely… so afraid to leave your shitty excuse of a planet.”

She couldn’t even close her eyes to resist. “At night, you are so desperate to sleep. When you do, you dream of an island with a green forest and freshwater. I can see the island. So… you’re picturing the Long Island system? The… Half-Blood base, I see.”

_Get out. Get out. Get out._

How is he seeing her deepest desire? How did he manage to see the location of classified information her friend trusted her with? Why is his hand leaving ghostly touches along her jaw? She couldn’t stop it, and the tears bottling up in her eyes couldn’t even stream down her face. As hard as she tried to break free, he wouldn’t budge his control over her.

“Really? Poseidon Jackson?” He smirked, his bright teeth invading her eyesight. “You think of him as a father you never had.” He rolled his eyes, lowering his voice. “Trust me, you’d be disappointed.”

His fingers raised her chin, and his control wavered a bit. She used the opportunity to angrily whisper, “Get out of my head.”

If it were possible, he leaned in closer. “You’ve seen the map. Don’t try to deny it, I know you have. You’re going to give it to me.” His fingers left her chin to run along her arm. “You’re afraid. Luke’s men couldn’t capture a fucking ball. I’m the only one here. Don’t be scared.”

It seemed like he gave her the exact reason she should be afraid. She ground her teeth, narrowing her eyes as she got a little bit of control back. “I’m not giving you anything.”

He peered into her eyes. “We’ll see.”

She returned the look. She worked through the pain, growling as she tried to set up a barrier inside her mind. The confident smile he had wavered, if only for a second. Is it working? He began to look less certain by the second, his face completely changing. She continued to match his gaze, looking into his eyes as he bit his lip, attempting to control her mind again. Her fingers began to twitch.

She’s regaining control. She didn’t know what he did to look into her mind, but for a second, he disappeared and she saw him, but in a different location. He kneeled alone in front of a mask. Somehow, she knew it belonged to Darth Pluto. And somehow, she knew now she was the one inside of his head as she watched him pray to the helmet for strength. 

“You…” She struggled through her words. “You’re just as afraid as I am. You… you think you’ll never be as strong… as Darth Pluto!” She growled, his hold on her weakening. 

Perseus withdrew from her faster than she’s ever seen a person move. Her body was released, both of them breathing rapidly as he stared at her through wild eyes. She stared at him as he turned around, looking like a wild animal. 

He never took his eyes off of her, even as he blindly opened the door and ran off, a Giantrooper taking over his job as babysitter.

Wow, lovely. 

Her emotions flooded over her body as the trooper stood in the back of the room. Strength ran through her body, though she couldn’t explain where it came from. The same way Perseus had intruded in her mind and taunted her with it, she was somehow able to replicate it. She’d been able to do what the Commander of the Titans was doing. 

What even _is_ it? She questioned how he had been doing everything since the woods, yet she had done it herself. She couldn’t even find it in her to feel bad for seeing what looked like a private moment.

At the same time, she had seen him in the basement. She’d seen herself with Hazel’s gold eyes as opposed to her usual grey. Frank talked about evil things that Hazel had done, and _she had the same eyes._ She’d gotten the same pain in her body when she spoke to Perseus as when she was younger, nothing but dark thoughts clouding her mind.

Reyna had spoken about seeing the same eyes in different people. She had also mentioned…

_The Force?_

No, there was no way. From the stories she heard about the Demigods, they apparently learned about their powers early on. She never used any sort of power when she was younger. Plus, she had some not so pleasant dreams. She wasn’t part of the dark side. There’s nothing that would make her do the same cruel things that Perseus does.

Then again, she _had._ She’d been able to see into his mind. Reyna told her she knew that Annabeth could feel the Force. She said to use the light as a guide. A couple of bad dreams didn’t mean she was going to the dark side, right?

Even though she was restrained and was in a moment of vulnerability, she could feel the potential of the situation. The worst that could happen is she’d be laughed at. She had the strength in her, she just had to use it. And if she really _could_ use the Force, then she’d be in a completely different playing field next time she faced Perseus. 

She cleared her throat as she turned to the Giantrooper. She studied him for a beat before putting on her own mask: confidence. “You will remove these restraints. Then, you’ll leave this cell with the door open.”

The trooper tilted his helmet at her in a confused manner. “What did you say?” 

He sounded like he couldn’t believe she was trying to use the Force. She dug a bit deeper into her strength, trying to push her wavering confidence out. She shifted in her restraint before turning back to the authority, repeating, “You will remove these restraints. Then, you’ll leave this cell with the door open.” 

The Giantrooper moved toward her, aiming his blaster at her. She didn’t know if he was about to kill her, free her, or completely ridicule her. The tension in the room was unbearable, with her digging the heel of her foot into the other. 

“I'll tighten those restraints, scavenger scum,” he growled.

It wasn’t nearly as terrifying as Perseus, but it still held weight since she was the one trapped in this situation. She blew a strand of hair out of her face, wishing she had more than rags so she could shut him up. She’d never been embarrassed by being a scavenger, but hearing it come out of a Giantrooper made her rile up. Even Perseus didn’t make her this angry.

She stared daggers into his helmet, calming herself before raising her chin so she could try again. One last time, she used all the power that was running amok in her body, hopefully tapping into the Force. “You will remove these restraints. Then, you’ll leave this cell with the door open.”

“I… will remove your restraints. Then, I’ll leave this cell with the door open.”

A huge grin threatened to spread across her face, but she kept it in as the Giantrooper reached down and unlatched her restraints. Her wrists were begging to be let out, and it was a relief to finally be free again. He turned to head out with his back to her, and she was still in disbelief that she’d managed to do it. 

She realized her own blaster had been taken from her, and her eyes landed to the one in his hand. “And you will drop your weapon.” 

Without turning around, he said, “And I’ll drop my weapon.” He didn’t look back at her as the blaster dropped to the floor, the cell door opening, and he left it open. 

Still in complete surprise that she was able to use the Force, she ran and got the blaster off of the floor. She started to walk out, her heart thumping with excitement. She was arming herself with the blaster and running out the corridor when she heard the voice that made her heart drop.

“Going somewhere, scavenger?”

*

“What do you mean, _she resisted you!?”_ Kronos demanded

Perseus didn’t even know what to say. Because being honest, he didn’t know how. He didn’t spend the past six years using the Force to take what he needed for some random girl to come out of nowhere and look into _his_ mind.

The thing is, she _isn’t_ a random girl.

He was twelve the first time he got a vision. He saw a young girl, which he guessed was around five years old. He expressed his concern to his dad, but he passed it along as the Force doing weird things to him. He didn’t see that girl again until he fell to the dark, seeing a teenager for an entire week. She didn’t do anything besides yell at people and while it amused him, it always seemed weird. As he tried to rise the Titans from the Tartarus crumbs, he pushed the random visions to the back of his mind.

It was strange to him, though. He would get nightmares of Kronos as a kid too, and most of his dreams were horrid. But whenever it was her, it was the only time he didn’t feel any anger or hatred. He didn’t know who she was, way back then. He would have to bring up this concern with the Supreme Leader later. He didn’t understand, and he would like to know where it came from.

Even when he stopped having the dreams as he grew up, at twenty six years old, he recognized the girl. As Commander, he wore his mask to hide all of his expressions. He didn’t know how much he needed it since he never had remorse in his body anyways. But his surprise when he saw her and knew she was the one he’d been seeing… 

It didn’t matter. She’s dangerous. She came from a nowhere planet with a nobody family, yet she managed to invade _his_ mind. _His,_ which he’s been training since he was younger than ten. His very powerful bloodline that apparently meant nothing if just anyone could waltz in and use powers they’ve never seen before in their lives. 

While it definitely wasn’t effortless, she still did it. He could feel when she’d dig into the Force without knowing it, using it against him. She still didn’t know her potential, and if she returns to those treacherous Half-Bloods, she never would. Maybe it’s a good thing for him, but she could be very valuable to the Titans if she had the right teacher. 

He had left his mask in her cell, which he was coming to regret as he stood before the hologram of Kronos. “She’s more powerful than she knows. Untrained in the Force, but powerful.” 

“And the droid?”

He hesitated. His plan relied on one factor, and it had gone wrong. How is he supposed to explain that to the Supreme Leader? From behind, he heard, “Your Commander here believed it was no longer valuable to us.”

Luke entered the large space, walking until he appeared next to him. “He believed that the girl was more valuable, though I can’t imagine why. As a result, the droid must already be in the hands of the Half-Bloods. Now, they’re a step ahead of us to finding Underwood.”

Perseus turned back to Kronos, furious at Luke for taking the situation out of context. It looked like nothing compared to Kronos’ anger. “Then the Half-Bloods _must_ be destroyed before they get to Underwood!”

“We have the location of Camp Half-Blood,” Perseus butted in, if only to save himself. “It’s in the Long Island system. I got it from the girl that Luke believed served us no purpose. I can get the map from her-”

“Nonsense,” Kronos chuckled. “We can destroy them once and for all. We’ve already fired on their major allies. All that’s left is them. Prepare the Nemesis, General.”

Wait, this isn’t what he meant at all. 

If they destroy the rebellion that his mother created, a new one would rise. It’d be for nothing if they were to all die. By this time tomorrow, a new order of Half-Bloods will carry on the search for Grover, defeating the purpose. By obliterating their base but leaving them to survive, they’d retreat to a new location that the Titans would know nothing about. It’s a bad idea.

“Supreme Leader…” He started, not bothering to watch Luke retreat behind him. He acts smug now when he can throw Perseus under the bus, but he switches up real quick when he’s confronted by challenge. Like the biggest one yet: capturing a fucking droid in the time it took him to kidnapp the scavenger. “I can get the map from the girl. I just need your guidance.”

If what you say about the girl is true…” Kronos thought for a minute. “Bring her to me.”

He didn’t want to ask what was planned. He knew better than to bring that up. He would appear like he was actually trying to defend her, and god knows that’s the last thing he needs right now. He had no remorse or sympathy. While he might recognize her from some random dreams he had as a kid, he knew it was nothing.

Nodding, he turned on his heel and made his way back to her cell. He smiled to himself, thinking back to how he had intimidated her during his interrogation. The way he could feel her skin heating up with anger and fear through his gloves made him want to go back and do it all over again.

He liked to be reminded of his power. He liked _having_ the power. All the lightside users were too humble for him. Always talking their crap with having to limit themselves before they got too greedy? Well, what’s the point in having power then? Darth Pluto had the right vision. Despite his internal struggle, even if some random stranger had seen his darkest insecurity, he will be as strong as her one day. 

He’d finish what she started. 

Perseus almost laughed as he rounded the corner, keeping quiet when he saw Annabeth holding a blaster as she attempted to sneakily make her way out of her cell. 

She was on his personal shuttle. 

Had this been the Nemesis, he could understand her method. She would get lost to the point where he couldn’t find her. She’d use some kind of communication and tell the Half-Bloods to come get her, taking her knowledge of the map with her. Oldest trick in the book, honestly. Had Poseidon really taught her nothing? No surprise. 

This is his personal shuttle. 

He knew every inch of this space. He wouldn’t have a ship that he didn’t memorize. Even if Luke had creeped on him during his meeting with Kronos, he still knew the man was on board. No one can be sneaky.

He raised an eyebrow to her back. “Going somewhere, scavenger?” 

She whipped back at him in alarm, her eyes going wide as she saw him. She pondered for a moment, and she looked like she was about to book it. He raised his fist without using the Force, but she stopped anyway. Maybe she knew she couldn’t get out of this one.

Then the realization dawned on him: she escaped. She was carrying a Giantroopers’ blaster, so she had gotten it from her guard. He doesn’t know what kind of workouts she’s been doing, but there’s no way her petite frame was able to get herself out of the restraints, also able to overwhelm the guard.

There’s only one thing she could’ve done. It’s _actually_ the oldest trick in the book, and he chuckled as he stepped closer, her breathing becoming uneven. “Relax, scavenger. I’m not going to kill you. I need you to give me what I want.”

“I am _not_ giving you the map,” she growled. The corridor had cleared out except for two Giantroopers, and upon seeing the interaction, they turned around and exited. Good. They wouldn't see his intimidation strategies until they went through it firsthand. 

“The map isn’t the only thing I need.” He watched as she shyly turned the safety off. It wouldn’t matter. He could stop the blast off before it even left the gun. “The Supreme Leader wishes to see you personally. Funny, most people on this shuttle haven’t even met him. I’d have to bring you to the Nemesis, of course. But-”

She lifted the blaster to fire at him. Her emotions were spilling out of her in buckets. He would have to teach her how to close herself off. He raised his hand, knocking the blaster into her cell and closing the door. He was only armed with Riptide, so it should be fair. Right? Ha, course not.

“I don’t know what you want,” she confessed, nearly in tears. He could understand her frustration. She’d outsmarted him once, and she was trying to do it again. He smiled. 

“I’ll tell you. For one…” He trailed off when he felt something he hadn’t in years. The last time he’d sensed this, he was being shipped off to go train with Grover. Well, look how well that turned out for them. “You’re going to come with me, scavenger.”

He snatched her by the arm, not bothering with an explanation. If all went according to his plan, he would get what he needed and still be able to take her to Kronos. “I won’t help you, and stop _calling me that.”_

His anger outranked hers. He could barely feel hers as he searched for the man he never wanted to see again. “Sorry, I didn’t talk about myself enough. I’m Perseus, now _be quiet.”_

“Annabeth, nice to meet you,” she rolled her eyes, trying to be sarcastic with him. All it’s gonna do is rile him up, and he’ll probably strike her down with his lightsaber. It’d be a shame if he did it before Kronos got to her, right?

As he peeked out from the corridor, he saw _him._ The man who hadn’t given him a second chance when he needed it. The man who had given up when he realized how difficult raising a Force sensitive kid was going to be. The man who had left him alone when all he really needed was someone to tell him that everything was going to be okay.

The man who failed him.

His father.

_Poseidon._

His father, if he could even call him that, was accompanied by the traitor Giantrooper. He looked equally as frantic as Mrs. O’Leary trailed behind them, all three of them trying not to get caught. Well, they sure failed.

He pulled Annabeth back into the corridor before she could call out to her friends as they approached the narrow walkway. “Here’s what you’re going to do. Your go-happy band of heroes have come to save you, I guess. You are going to lure Poseidon to the middle of the catwalk, then wait for my instructions.” 

“Why am I going to do that?”

“Because if not, I’ll tell the Supreme Leader where Camp Half-Blood is located. He’ll fire on you guys in an _instant._ Do you want me to destroy the planet you dream of? Or do you want to comply?”

*

_Or do you want to comply…_

She didn’t want to. By god, she didn’t want to. But hundreds, maybe thousands of Half-Bloods will die. Plus, Poseidon is smart. She knows he can talk himself out of whatever Perseus is going to do. She didn’t know where his wild eyes came from or why he went from sly to miserable. 

If she tilted her head the right way, she could see Poseidon and Jason, much to her excitement. She couldn’t show her relief, or even think about it, but if she could relay the message somehow, then she would be set. She squared her shoulders, walking to the middle of the catwalk and waiting until one of them turned around to notice her.

So when Jason did a double take at her and broke into a huge grin, she smiled sadly at him. She knows what she had to do to help Camp Half-Blood. She just hopes she’s strong enough to help them get the point. 

She ran to him, unable to keep it in. She met him at the end of the catwalk, where the railing began. He embraced her in a hug that she’d been dying for since he left. “You’re back!”

He pulled away to examine her, though none of her injuries she’d sustained would be visible. “Annabeth, are you alright? Did he hurt you?”

One job. Get Poseidon to the middle of the catwalk. He’d be able to fool the Commander, and they’ll get the hell off the ship. She shook her head, despite her wanting to say yes and run away with the two of them while she could. “Jason, how are you back?”

When he smiled down at her and said, “We came back for you,” she nearly burst into tears then and there, no matter her idol and the Titan Commander was watching the interaction. All she’s ever wanted was for someone to come back for her. And someone _did._

With all the constant reminders of being a scavenger and being treated as nothing but a hard drive for a map, she needed some kind of confirmation that she was okay. He hadn’t given up on her, despite him wanting to give up on himself. 

_He came back for her._

“It was all his idea,” Poseidon rolled his eyes in a playful manner. “Alright, hug later. Right now, we gotta get out of here.”

“How did you get out?” Jason asked. She needed to keep them in this spot. She glued her feet to the floor, thinking about what life would be like at Camp Half-Blood when she returned with these two.

“I can’t explain…”

Suddenly, Poseidon focused his eyes over her shoulder. Her eyes started welling up when she realized he’d seen Perseus. Did he know she set them up? She’ll explain later, _after_ he finds a way to manipulate the man and go back to Camp Half-Blood intact.

“Percy!” 

The name echoed across the catwalk, bouncing off the walls as Perseus met him in the middle. The man held his pen tight in his grip, having found his mask. He didn’t respond to ‘Percy’ the same way he did his other titles.

Poseidon turned to her for a second, smiling as he whispered, “This isn’t your fault, okay? Tell Sally I tried bringing our son home.” He didn’t wait for her answer, instead choosing to meet his son (!!) halfway on the catwalk. “Take that mask off. You don’t need it.”

_Son?_

There’s literally no way that’s possible. Except it had to be, because it all aligned. It explained why Perseus laughed at her for seeing Poseidon as a father figure, and why the smuggler had gotten sad every time he talked about Grover or the boy that had betrayed everyone by falling to the dark side.

That boy was his _son._

“What do you plan on seeing if I remove my mask?”

“The face of my son.”

They had finally met up with each other. Perseus unlatched the mask to face his dad, and she had a feeling that this is the first time Poseidon has seen him since he destroyed Grover’s Demigod temple. How many years has he been without parents?

No, Annabeth. Now is not the time to start thinking about family. She has got to stop doing that at inappropriate times.

Perseus kept his expression cool and level, not wavering before Poseidon’s intense gaze. “Your son is dead. He was weak and foolish, so I destroyed him before he became exactly like his father.”

“Is that what Kronos has been feeding you?” Poseidon scoffed the same way a parent might if their kid had knocked over a dinner plate. “It’s not true. I know my son is alive in there, Percy.”

She didn’t understand the name change. He was aggressive towards everything, but the switch made him flinch. They were simply words, right? 

He uncapped his pen, the hilt of his lightsaber growing in his hand. “No, the Supreme Leader is wise.” 

Giantroopers dotted the scene, all watching the exchange. Mrs. O’Leary whimpered, burrowing her head into Jason’s thigh. If anything, their hellhound friend had been the one to keep a level head during this whole thing. What’s scaring her this time?

“Kronos is just using you for your power,” Poseidon pleaded. “When he gets what he needs from you, he’ll destroy you! You know it!”

Perseus quickly glanced at her, the words repeating what he said earlier to her. He settled his gaze back to his father immediately, his green eyes beginning to crack. “It’s too late. I’m alone, and I can’t go back.”

His words struck a chord in her because she _understood._ She understands why feeling alone and empty inside means he can’t go back. Except for her, it was the exact opposite. Her loneliness was the reason she _did_ want to go back to San Francisco, her life of normality, of everything. She could see where he was coming from, yet couldn’t find it in her to actually sympathize with him. 

“It’s not. Leave. You can come with me back home. Your mother and I miss you.”

For the first time in all their interactions, he seemed to be truly conflicted. His eyes flooded with a stoic burn. “I just want to be free of this pain. It’s tearing me apart.”

Poseidon took a step toward his son. “Percy..” 

“I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it,” Perseus stated, every part of his body screaming for aid. “Will you help me?”

“Yes. _Anything.”_

Perseus lifted the hilt of his lightsaber, and an understanding seemed to pass between the son and father. Perseus wrapped his hand around it, and Poseidon positioned his directly on top, reaching out to touch his son’s face with his fingertips. 

With a sad smile, the lightsaber ignited, passing through Poseidon's chest as the man went limp. 

“No!” Annabeth screamed, reaching out with her arm. As if she could reach him now. She’d led him into this trap. She thought he would try to talk himself out of this, but as the body fell over the catwalk, she lifted a hand to her mouth to stifle her cries.

“Thank you..” Perseus said, watching his father fall into the void with a solemn expression.

Mrs. O’Leary cried out in anger, ferociously running toward the Commander and attacking, effectively biting into the man’s side. He fell back, not because of the bite, but because one of the many Giantroopers aiming at Leary had hit his side. 

Dazed and confused, Jason fired Poseidon’s blaster at the Giantroopers now relentlessly shooting. He wrapped his arm around her to practically drag her out of the room and to the landing bay, the personal shuttle having landed on a snow planet. 

Jason kept her out of sight from the Giantroopers, leading her god knows where as they thought about how the last image Poseidon had seen was his son failing him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May the fourth be with you guys!! 
> 
> But for my clone wars fans: How we feeling?? Personally, I'm an emotional mess. That ending was tragically beautiful. We knew it was coming, yet we wanted it to be different so badly. It wasn't. It had the same outcome. 
> 
> So yeah, that was SUPER sad and it absolutely broke my heart with the tragedy at the end of a war, but I'm posting this while listening to Ahsoka's theme so... 
> 
> :')


	5. Midnight Sword Race

Percy moved through the trees, igniting his lightsaber when he was thirty feet away from SQ8R and Annabeth. 

SP8R passed his blaster to her, and he ignitated a lightsaber that wasn’t his. Percy immediately recognized it as Grover’s. No, that belonged to _him._ Some traitor Giantrooper wasn’t going to keep it now. He wouldn’t allow it. 

“I’m not done with you yet!” He shouted at the pair, snow falling down around them. 

“Jason, call Festus,” Annabeth whispered, but the Force carried her voice to him. The troopers are naming each other now? She turned to him, her eyes burning even in the snow. “You’re a monster!” 

He cocked his head to the side. “It’s just us now. Poseidon can’t save you this time!”

In reality, Poseidon had tried to save more than just them. Kronos’ test was to see if he could easily strike his father down with Riptide. He had hesitated in the moment, and the man had pressed the button to ignite it himself. He could’ve fought back, but he submitted. There would’ve been no turning back from the Titans _and_ the dark if he had done it himself. He’s been given an out.

It’s too late. His dad can’t pick and choose when he decides his son is worth saving. If he wasn’t before, he doesn’t get to say he is now. While he could sense some conflict because his dad sacrificed himself to bring him home, he knew his place. He knew where he belonged: a monster with the other monsters.

Annabeth raised her blaster. She was acting too much on impulse. He’d have to show her how to stop doing that. He stopped it easily, and she strained under his power. The surprising part was his own struggle. She was resisting again, and she was trying to enter his mind. He was weakened by Mrs. O’Leary biting him and then the blast to his side. He only had a couple seconds left to overpower her.

In his panic to stop her, he accidentally flicked his wrist too hard. Her blaster slipped out of her hand, and she flew backwards and slammed into a tree. She fell to the snow _hard._ Too hard. Her eyes slipped close, and he was in a momentary state of panic. 

If he killed her, he would be a dead man to Kronos. If he killed her, he might’ve killed what could be their most dangerous and valuable weapon. 

He took a step forward to check on her, but SP8R (or Jason, apparently), turned off Grover’s lightsaber, running to her in the same panic he had, though for different reasons. “Annabeth, Annabeth, no. No, no no no. Oh, no.”

Percy took another step, and his lightsaber made a sound to alert Jason. He took a good look at the trooper that had assisted the Half-Bloods. How could General Sally accept a _Giantrooper?_ She sent him away the second the dark side called to him.

His anger returned.

“Traitor!” He shouted. 

Jason stood, sticking close to the fallen girl. He ignited the lightsaber again, Grover’s blue weapon standing out against his red one. He wished he had his mask on because he couldn’t hide his emotions well this time. 

“That lightsaber! Spatha belongs to me!”

He raised Spatha in response. “Then come get it.”

Gladly. 

Perseus charged at full speed. He’d had training from the best light and dark side users on how to use a lightsaber. Judging by Jason’s terrified eyes, tucking his lip as he waited for impact, he had fifteen minutes to learn how to hold it. 

He lunged, but the man deflected the spark-spitting blade. 

He turned, aiming for the legs. He cut through at the last second to go for the arm, but Jason surprisingly countered. Impressive, for someone who’s done nothing his whole life but shoot out of a blaster. He welcomed the challenge with interest. While he still isn’t a worthy opponent, he doesn’t have to kill anyone right away. 

Movement near the tree caught his eye. Annabeth was waking up, recovering her bearings as she peered at the fight happening not even forty feet from her. Relief flushed through his body. Kronos would not be having his head today. Jason was so relieved, however, that it distracted him from the fight. 

He jabbed Riptide as if it were a staff, aiming straight for Jason’s chest. Grover would’ve yelled at him for gripping the hilt so poorly, but he’s not looking to lightly maim here. No, he’s trying to hurt. Jason got put on the defensive by ducking, but quickly took over the offensive. He swung the lightsaber widely, not looking to where it landed. Perseus set Riptide up to dodge when the swing finished, but in raising his arm, Spatha was able to graze him. 

Perseus moved back. He was now wounded in more than one area, and his enemy didn’t have a single scratch. How had he let someone who’s never been in a real battle before get any hits in? He swore he’d rather die right now then have to face Kronos and explain to him what happened. 

He charged, more enraged than weakened. How _dare_ someone who’s never been in battle even try to get the best of him? Their weapons pounded in the middle, the sparks flying everywhere. He could clearly see the face of the traitor in the light of the lightsabers. He saw blue eyes and short blond hair. It was the complete opposite of his messy dark hair, green eyes. 

He pushed back with all of his strength, attacking with pure ferocity. Jason hadn’t been expecting it, though he should’ve. Unprepared by the fierceness, he was able to separate their lightsabers from the middle, firing blow after blow, pushing his opponent back until he lost balance.

As Jason fell, Perseus was able to strike a blow to his torso. Spatha flew out of Jason’s hand, turning off by itself. It landed somewhere twenty feet away, though it was far enough that only he could get it now. 

He turned off Riptide, holding the hilt but not transforming it into his pen. He reached for Spatha with his arm, not bothering to walk over and get it. He beckoned it over with the Force, the lightsaber beginning to vibrate in the snow. He gestured, increasing his power as Jason’s eyes fell closed underneath him.

Good. 

Spatha flew out of the snow like a bullet, and he opened his palm to catch it. His heart fell as it sped past him. Perseus turned to see that the lightsaber had flown into the hands of Annabeth, who stood and faced him. She’d reached for it herself after waking up, and it _worked?_

He’d bragged on and on about how he could take anything he wanted, but this time, she took what he needed. 

*

Annabeth was stunned that Spatha’s hilt landed in her hands, but so was Perseus. 

She held it with both hands, igniting it as it came to life. She’d touched it only once, in Reyna’s basement, not so much as even held it or fought with it. She blinked the bright light out of her eyes, having not adjusted to it since it was her first time. 

He looked at her with amazement, almost. He couldn’t believe that she had used a power she had no idea about, and neither could she. But before she could do any real celebrating, she remembered how the red lightsaber before her had killed his own father. He had struck Jason with it, and would’ve done worse if Spatha wasn’t the priority. 

She charged at him this time, Perseus immediately going on the defensive. He was rocked by her, with how hard she charged and her raw, innate skill. There’s also the fact that he slammed her into a fucking tree and literally knocked her out. She’d taken a second to regain her senses, and was able to get back to her feet.

Amid the bare white trees, the two lightsabers were the only light they had in the forest. The flurry of snow fell down around them as they fought, and she fought _hard._

Not just for herself and the things he did to her mind, but for a list of people.

Poseidon, who had called Commander Perseus his son. Poseidon, who had taken a liking to her and believed she was good enough. He believed in her, and he had offered her a job to be in his crew. He had been failed by his kid, yet it didn’t stop him from being kind. He wasn’t bitter or mean. But he wouldn’t be here to let her accept his offer. 

Jason, who was sprawled somewhere by a couple trees. He had found her on San Francisco, and even if she didn’t really like him at the beginning, his actions spoke louder than words. He lied to her and was ready to leave her behind, but he came back for her. She would’ve been left for dead on Perseus’ shuttle if he didn’t think she was worth saving. 

Then, a woman she’d never met. When Poseidon was struck, she’d sensed the presence of someone else. If Perseus had a father, then he obviously had a mother. If she had to guess, she’d assume it was this lady. So many people affected by this death, not enough time given to properly mourn. 

Even if she swung the lightsaber like her staff, she attacked with everything she had. 

Annabeth seemed impossibly stronger for a second. She could see him extra careful to not be hit in the side or arm. He’s not in good health as they fought, and she can imagine this going completely different if he were at full strength. 

Then again, she isn’t either. 

She has no clue what she’s doing. She swung with the only attack style she ever knew, which was wielding a staff. She delivered over half a dozen blows before he found his strength, moving forward and pushing her back. She kept her feet in the same place, but he slid her backwards, making marks in the snow.

How did he move her entire body? She couldn’t feel the Force. Did he do that on his own? She could wonder later. She realized he had backed her onto the edge of a cliff far too late. He had her exactly where he wanted her. In the middle of her blind attacks, he let her think she was winning so he could overpower her.

It had _worked,_ which scared her more than she liked to admit. He didn’t have to use the Force to mess with her mind this time. He was able to do it all on her own, and if she hadn’t snapped back to reality when she did, he probably would’ve thrown her over the side. 

“You need a teacher!” Perseus yelled as he pushed his lightsaber toward her. She lifted Spatha to meet his, now stuck in a parry. If she could redirect his attack by simply pushing Riptide out of the way, she would be fine. But his strength overpowered her, and she fell to a knee as she attempted to keep the plasma out of her face. “I can show you the ways of the Force!”

“The Force…” 

She questioned his methods. He twisted his way into her mind, made her trick her friends, _killed his dad in front of her,_ knocked her against a tree, and nearly murdered her friend. Now he has her backed onto a cliff and he’s offering her… what? Force classes? 

No. 

She had used it by accident before, and she’d done it on purpose against the Giantrooper. As he tried to summon Spatha to his hand, she had taken over his command and grasped the lightsaber for herself. If she could do it then, she shouldn’t have a problem doing it as he hovered over her, his face inches away from hers. The only thing that separated them at this point were two deadly weapons.

_You got this._

Her eyes slipped close for a beat. She centered herself, focusing and gathering her thoughts. She took in a deep breath before opening her eyes, pounding back with a double handed swipe. 

He hadn’t been expecting her to hit back ten times harder, so when his hand tried to block her, she had slashed him down his face and chest. Where his complexion had been perfect, there was now a thick black burn mark. She smiled in her mind, happy to know he was going to have to explain to the Titans where he had gotten the scar from. 

She stepped behind him, turning the tables so he would be the one at the edge of the cliff. He reached for his lightsaber, and she got the feeling that he was going to strike her down with one last hit. Now, she had a plan concocted in her head. 

She just had to make it actually work, this time.

Reaching her hand out, she made a gesture toward the cliff. He started charging, but didn’t get the chance to when the ground shook, splitting between the middle of them as a gully formed. She panted, though her determination outweighed her exhaustion. She turned around, not giving Perseus another glance as he shouted nonsense at her. 

She ran back through the forest to find Jason. She found him on the floor, near death, as his nose and mouth started spewing blood. She turned off Spatha, kneeling next to him as she examined his potentially fatal wound.

“Jason, Jason…” She turned him over, taking caution in the way she moved him. He was completely limp, and weighed more than she ever thought. She could feel his loose muscles through his jacket, and it terrified her more than she liked to admit.

Annabeth sat helpless in the snow, racking her brain for a possible idea. She had a murderous snake hot on her tail who could potentially be on his way to find her. He had to be eager, considering she messed up his face and took the lightsaber he fought her for. She had taken what he wanted. He couldn’t be too happy about it. 

She was a sitting duck, overwhelmed by the situation. Ducks and ducks and all the fucking birds. Everywhere she turned, there was nothing but trees and snow. There were more trees than stuff she could use to get out of this. To make things better, the very same trees had begun to collapse as a result of her breaking the ground.

It’s probably why Perseus hadn’t used the Force against her during the fight. The planet he had parked his shuttle at wasn’t stable enough, and opening a fissure in the ground as she did would result in something like this.

He has a getaway. He can get out of this if the planet were to collapse in on itself. All he’d have to do is call for the shuttle. She had no communication. She had no way to get word to Festus or Mrs. O’Leary that they needed backup. She had acted without thinking, and she regretted it.

It started with stealing a ship she knew was no good, and while it had worked out in the end, she had acted too recklessly in the moment. Then, she followed after a random voice in a stranger’s basement, and it showed her things she never wanted to see. It showed her three people in a vulnerable state. It showed her the worst memory she has. It showed her with a red, double sided lightsaber, sitting alongside Perseus.

She shivered. She was in nothing but her rags from San Francisco. She had made her robe to keep her cool under the blazing sun, and it wasn’t working out for her now. She didn’t have the heart to take Jason’s jacket, so she plopped him in her lap so she could conduct his body heat. Her bare arms covered in goosebumps, and her eyelashes were dusted with so much snow she could hardly see.

Even though she grew up on a sand planet, she decided she didn’t like snow. It’s mushy and cold and irritating. It’s getting everywhere. 

Everywhere. 

Tears came to her eyes as she lifted Jason’s lifeless body to rest his head on her shoulder. She had met this boy not even a day ago, yet she was already more attached to him than she could explain. Even if he lied to her and had left, she still adored him for the way he came back to rescue her.

But it didn't work out. They were left to die on a collapsing planet, all the while being hunted. She had a lightsaber that she got lucky with, but it wouldn’t do anything against the falling trees. Despite holding a dying man in her arms, she was just as alone as she had been on San Francisco. 

She had led Poseidon to his death on this no good planet. He had turned to her to tell her it wouldn’t be her fault, as if he knew, but she should’ve known better. She acts more based on thoughts rather than emotions, the way she’s been doing since she left her stupid little planet.

If they live to see past tomorrow, she swears she’ll never let Perseus get the better of her. 

He’ll never back her to the edge of a cliff. She’ll learn how to use the Force without him. She doesn’t need him to be her teacher. If the Titans have the rest of the map to Grover, then she’ll find it too. 

The next time she sees him, he’ll be wishing he had delivered her to the Supreme Leader instead of letting her go. 

The Supreme Leader wanted to see her? The only reason he’ll be requesting her next time is because he'd be angry that she defeated his commander. The second she gets off this stupid planet, it’s over for all of them. Which, considering their current situation, wouldn’t be soon. 

Just when she was about to break down crying again, her wet eyes looked up to see the Argo, its lights illuminating the duo. The ramp came down to show Mrs. O’Leary and Festus, who both raced down to meet her. 

Wait, who's piloting?

Before she could question what the two of them were doing, another man came barreling down the ramp. He helped her lift Jason onto the Argo, taking one shoulder as she stumbled with the other. They carried him inside, the other man running to the cockpit as she followed. She plopped into the pilot seat, and the man took the copilot with no complaints. 

“Hello, who are you?” Annabeth asked, setting up the controls. She turned back for a second to see Mrs. O’Leary and Festus frantically work to get Jason warmed up, trying to fix the wound in his torso. 

“My name is Leo. I’m Festus’ master, and he seems to really like you. So… hello,” he introduced, pointing to a couple of X-Wings in the distance. “Follow those. They’ll lead us back to Camp Half-Blood. The general wants to see you.”

She nodded. They’d have a real introduction when they landed. But as she followed steadily behind the departing X-Wings, she was just glad to leave the collapsing planet behind.

* 

Annabeth and Leo carried the unconscious Jason off of the Argo. Medical Personnel met them halfway on the ramp, taking Jason from their arms. She panted as she looked at Camp Half-Blood. X-Wings everywhere, people running around, droids walking to important destinations. 

“I’m Leo Valdez.” He held his hand out to her, an elfish grin on his face. Festus stayed in the middle of them, watching his master and the girl who took him in. “I’m a pilot.”

She took his hand, shaking it as she tried to smile back. “I’m Annabeth. I don't have a job here yet, but I pilot too.”

He laughed, and the sound was refreshing to hear. The only thing she heard while holding Jason was his labored breathing and her tiny whimpers as she tried not to break down. To see spirits up high, to see the hope the Half-Bloods had… It was nothing she’d ever seen before.

If this was how all Half-Bloods are, she could definitely get used to it. She appreciated his kindness. Festus whirred happily, spinning circles around them. So, this is who Festus was waiting for? She was happy for him, she was. He was sent on a mission, and he had completed it. 

She could still find who she was waiting for. She thought her life was over as she held her dying friend. She wasted fourteen years of her life on San Francisco. She was left behind at five years old, and stayed until she was nineteen. 

If it took getting on one of these X-Wings to find her parents, she would. But she wouldn’t just wallow around and wait anymore. Not when she knows she can do more than that.

“The general should be here any minute,” Leo said, shoving his hands into his pants pocket. “She really wanted a chance to get to talk to you. Along with saving you, we blew up the Nemesis. She’ll come when that squadron comes in.”

As if on cue, a fleet on X-Wings landed on the ground. She instinctively stepped closer to Leo and Festus, watching as all the pilots ran off of their ships and hugged each other. Leo smiled, turning to her, “I was with them in the raid, but left when I helped blow it up. We got word from Sally that we lost eyes on you two, so I came to help.”

Someone else was looking out for them? She almost started crying again, but stopped herself as an elderly woman parted the crowd. A one-eyed droid walked close behind her as the crowds continued cheering, celebrating their victory. 

But for some people, this was not a victory. It was a loss.

Annabeth had sensed her through the Force when Poseidon was struck. Perseus’ own mother… A mother he had no remorse for. The general who stayed strong because she had a group of people she needed to lead, but who also lost the father of her child. She lost both of them. A woman who watched out for her, despite having never seen each other before. 

They moved towards each other, stopping once they were face to face. Sally had her grey hair in a braided bun, her brown eyes watching her sadly. Despite her heartbreak, the general had a sense of gratefulness rolling off of her. She knew Annabeth was there, and was just glad Poseidon had a child figure in his last moments.

Even if she hadn’t known the man for long, or even Sally, they both understood the loss the other had. Sally cupped Annabeth’s face in her hands, a beat passing before she embraced her; a motherly embrace. She’d never had a first meeting with anyone go this emotional, silently shedding her tears in mourning of this woman.

Mrs. O’Leary sat with many in the base, the victory forgotten as they grieved their losses. Poseidon hadn’t wanted to come back to the fight, and when he did, he paid for it with his life. 

Suddenly, the one-eyed droid behind Sally yelped, calling out, “Blackjack! I’ve missed you! You’ve come back!”

They let go of each other to look at another droid, a sleek balck with white mech. He beeped with smugness, leading the way into a building. She looked to Sally for confirmation. Did the droid just say…? 

“Tyson, did he just say what we think?” Sally asked.

“Blackjack has some very good news!” Tyson called out, making sure they were following him. Sally led the way, Leo and Annabeth right behind her as Festus practically sprinted alongside Mrs. O’Leary. 

They walked into a building, the base, with a handful of Half-Blood officers. Annabeth didn’t think she belonged there, but as she took a step to walk out, Sally grabbed her arm to make her stay. Leo chuckled at her, finding more amusement in her nervousness than disdain. There was no one there to judge the dirty scavenger for being in the super important meeting. 

Blackjack projected a hologram into the room. It was a navigational map the size of the room, a large chunk missing in the middle. She looked to Festus as she recognized the shape, who beeped frantically to Leo.

“All right, buddy,” Leo nodded. “Show them what you got.”

Festus rolled next to Blackjack, projecting his own map. He shrunk it down to fit Blackjack’s projection as the two droids worked together to make them sync. The holograms united, the pieces fitting together perfectly. 

“Oh wow!” Tyson yelled out, staring at the stars in amazement. “The map! It’s complete!”

Sally put a hand over her heart as she studied the map. “Grover…” She then turned to Annabeth, smiling at her in sadness. “So, you can use the Force too?”

“I guess so.” Annabeth cracked a smile at Leo’s eager face. “I didn’t know I could until today.”

“What you need is a teacher.” 

Sally’s words reminded her of Perseus. As much as he doesn’t want to be a part of this family anymore, no one could deny the resemblance. His eyes were exactly like his father’s, the sea green standing out against their dark skin. He talked like his mother, with confidence that went around the room. 

She wanted to know his story. 

She wanted to know how someone with parents who loved him so dearly could betray them like that, turning to the dark side without conflict. Or why the name Percy scared him so much. It’s just a shorter version of Perseus, yet he jumped when Poseidon called him that. Why is he so obsessed with continuing what Darth Pluto left behind? The woman had turned to the light, bringing balance to the Force. Why was he going to destroy what she fixed?

He was just as obsessed with Spatha. Was it because it had belonged to Hazel? Or because it was Grover’s? She pieced together that the student Poseidon had told her about in the story of Grover’s disappearance was Perseus. Did he want the lightsaber because it belonged to someone he admired, or because it used to be in the possession of someone he hates?

She needed to understand him better if she was going to defeat him one day. He knew a lot about her. 

Too much. 

He knew her scavenger background, he knew about her being an orphan. He had found her in the woods, but the only way he would’ve been able to do that is if he had been purposely searching for her. How does he know so much about her?

When she knew more about him and how to get under his skin, he’d regret ever showing her she can use the Force. While he didn’t do it on purpose, he shouldn’t have underestimated her. It was his first mistake, and she would make sure that it’d be one he’d regret. She may be alone in discovering her powers, but she had a whole lot of backup for when she would get the chance to see him again.

“So I’ve heard.” 

Sally cracked a small smile. “I won’t be much use to you. I haven’t used the Force in years, and I’ve never been one to use it in battle. But I know someone who can.” 

The general shared a wordless conversation with Leo. A large grin spread across his face, and she cocked her head at him, “Wait, he can use the Force too?”

Leo let out a laugh immediately. “What? No. I love everyone that can use it for good though. It’s so easy to be seduced by all the power. I have major respect for staying humble. We’re thinking about who could help you. Or maybe even who you might be able to help.”

“I don’t follow.”

“I think you’re our best hope at getting Grover to come back.”

*

Annabeth and Leo sat on the edge of Jason’s bed as he continued to sleep.

“Why is he still knocked out?” Leo wondered out loud. “I mean, you told us about how you slashed Perseus across the face and it literally burned him. How come he was fine and ready to fight? Jason got hit in the torso and my dude’s been asleep for two days now.”

She wanted to laugh at his word choice, but decided it’d be inappropriate to burst out cackling in the middle of the ICU. “I barely grazed Perseus’ face, and I wasn’t doing it at full strength. Riptide went halfway into Jason’s waist and probably hit something vital. Plus, it was an uneven match. More so than when he fought me. I had the Force to protect myself, and Jason was alone.”

Leo hummed. They watched their friend with sadness. If he hadn’t pushed her against that stupid tree, it would’ve been two versus one, with one being a Force user. Riptide already seemed unstable, with some of the plasma coming out the side. When she learned how to properly wield Spatha, it’d be a whole new story. 

“Raise hell for him,” Leo muttered, staring at their blond friend. “The next time you see Perseus, you take a blaster and shoot him through the head with it.”

“He’ll pay for what he did,” she agreed. “I just gotta learn how.”

“You will,” he confirmed, giving her a sweet smile. He stretched across the bed, laying across Jason’s feet as he rested his head against his arms, looking up at her. “Trust me, sweetheart. Even though you were covered in snow and crying, you were still terrifying when I met you. I let you take the pilot seat, no questions. Now, imagine how the commander feels now that you’ve kicked his ass?”

Truthfully, it gave her more confidence. She had come to say her goodbyes to put off leaving, but he knew how to make her believe in herself a bit more. Leo must’ve sensed this, because he winked at her as he said, “The new generation of Demigods begins when you board the Argo. Now, stop wallowing here and go start your journey.”

She smiled gratefully. She turned to Jason, moving a strand of hair out of his face. “We’ll see each other again. I know that.” 

Leo sat up to give her a hug. “Make them cry in the name of the Half-Bloods.”

“Take care of my friends,” she responded as she dislodged herself from the embrace. “I’ll ask Festus how well you did when I get back!”

She ran out the door as he yelled something back, but she couldn’t hear. As she saw Mrs. O’Leary and Blackjack getting on the ramp of the Argo, she met Sally and Festus, who were waiting for her by the ship. 

“Take this, my dear.” Sally gave her a metal watch of some sort with a blinking blue light in the center. “It’s a homing beacon, so you can find your way back when you’re ready to return.”

She took the beacon, attaching it to her wrist. She noticed the woman had an identical one on her own arm. She stood for a beat before Mrs. O’Leary practically shouted at her from the inside that she’d finished all the last minute checks.

“Annabeth...” Sally grabbed her arm right before she turned to leave. “You are our last hope. Sending you away to train with Grover… it reminds me of him. But you won't share the same fate as my son. Thank you for doing this.”

She nodded her goodbye because if she opened her mouth, she’d admit all of her fears, despite the vote of confidence that Leo had given her. She crossed to the Argo, not looking back as she made her way to the cockpit with Mrs. O’Leary and Blackjack. 

Annabeth sat in the pilot’s seat, Mrs. O’Leary as her copilot. She could see Festus from the window, chuckling as Blackjack started beeping about missing the friend he just met. They started to go airborne, and she flicked the hyperdrive switch as they descended into lightspeed. 

The stars stretched into the normal sky in what seemed like a blink of an eye. It had been quite a ways from Camp Half-Blood, though it didn’t feel like it took nearly that long. But they had arrived before they knew it.

As she started to lower the Argo to the planet of Labyrinth, she noticed the endless blue ocean that seemed to go on forever. Black mountains rocks decorated the space as countless green trees were dotted all over the place. Another green place that was safe away from the grasp of the Titans. 

When she landed, she strapped the staff that she’d left in the cockpit (it seemed like forever ago) to her back. She exited the ship, and before she started her hike up a considerable mountain, she looked back at her small crew for a second. Yeah, they’ve got her back. 

Taking a deep breath, she started the journey upwards. 

It took her around twenty minutes to arrive at a clearing. It was adorned with small and modest stone structures. She didn’t see anyone around, so she walked past them. She made her way to the edge of a cliff and still didn’t find anyone. They were in the right spot though. The map had been correct, right?

Suddenly, she stopped. 

A presence made her turn around to see a man about ten feet away from her. He stood with a robe and cloak, as if trying to hide his identity. She knew exactly who this was as he very slowly made his way to her. He stood in front of her, pulling off his hood to reveal Grover Underwood.

His green eyes bore into hers. He was the same age as Sally, with tangled white curls and a beard that rivaled Poseidon’s. He had kindness in his eyes, but there was also a tortured look in them. He didn’t ask her who she was, or her purpose. His expression seemed to ask all of the questions. She reached into her pack, pulling out the lightsaber that had caused so many problems.

Annabeth held the lightsaber to the galaxy’s last hope as an offer, a plea, that he’d help her journey begin. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IK IT'S BEEN A WHILE 
> 
> I had to keep rewriting the fight because I'm terrible at anything action. I'm still not super happy with it, but it's something. 
> 
> But seriously, thanks you guys for reading. This story has been so much fun to write, and I will continue this in a retelling of The Last Jedi. 
> 
> I already have my notes for TLJ planned out, so this is gonna be another story for everyone :)
> 
> Thank you for being here, and hopefully I'll see you in the next one <3

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: sapphicpipermclean


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